Hood Council Notes

Hood Council Meeting: Patar 2001

2009-04-20T18:32:00.000-07:00

Hood Council Meeting

Patar 2001

Attendees: Fiona Kent, Carmela Herendez, Rebecca Wilsonoff, Johan Shazad, Julio Wilsonoff

The hood council meeting comes to a start with Rebecca Wilsonoff noting the collection from the recent tax day.

"§61,000 was collected from registered Apple Valley residents while §150,000 was collected from tourist fees and usage fees. A grand total of §211,000 is available until 2004 when another tax collection will be due."

Fiona opens the floor for proposals from each council member.

"Personally, I would love to see a theater for the children and residents. We need more culture options in the hood. Let's start with Carmela."

Carmela agrees. "My proposal does include a theater. Two in fact. An amphitheater at the Alisa Crawston Park for casual outdoor performances and another formal theater on Apple Valley Metro for more classical performances like ballet and violin concerts."

Fiona nods, "This would go very well with the musuem you proposed the other day, Rebecca. Perhaps you and Carmela can meet and combine your proposals. Let's see if we can save some money by combining them."

Johan nods. "I hope to see both buildings soon. The children need more exposure to culture and life. I can provide them with the basics such as algebra and simlish history, but I would like to start increasing the field trips for the children beyond the school yard."

"Before we can even think about more field trips," Julio interrupts. "We need to give parents the tools they need for raising thier children. I see so many children in the clinic for simple reasons that education of our parents could have avoided...dehydration, lack of exercise and the all too common 'sitting in front of the tv-itis'."

Carmela agrees. "My last report on the aging and health of the hood reflected the same thing. I agree that money should be spent on parent education as well as ensuring that our children are exposed to healthy alternatives besides sugary snacks and TV shows."

"Didn't we just install vending machines in the school?" Fiona asked Rebecca and Johan. "Are we contributing to the problem?"

Rebecca nodded. "We still can't justify hiring a full time cook for the school lunches and encourage students to bring thier lunch. However, if a student forgets thier lunch, we need to provide some form of substance even if it is a sugary drink. The extra simoleans are going towards the school as well. Correct, Johan?"

Johan nodded. "The money does help with minor repairs and school supplies. Speaking of repairs, Lyndon couldn't make it to the meeting and asked me to present his proposal. If that's ok?"

"Continue."

"The church is in desperate need of a renovation. The space is too small for weddings and Lyndon proposes adding a second floor for wedding celebrations and a small banquet hall. Also, the graveyard is in need of more landscaping and better lighting."

Fiona nodded.

"Any one else would like to add anything to the meeting?"

"Yes," Carmela spoke up. "We still need a place where pet owners can take thier animals."

"Any other proposals, please submit them before the next meeting."

Results of the meeting

Church renovation=§15,000

Adapting existing parks with pet facilities=§7,000

Apple Valley Metro Theater=§50,000

Alisa Crawston Amphitheater=§5,000

Pet Registration Festival=§1,000

Apple Valley Children's Park=§50,000

Total Budgeted For=§128,000

Remaining=§83,000

Education Director: PU and Vocational Training

2009-02-25T19:16:00.000-08:00

As part of my duties with Pierce University, I visited the academic quad as it prepared for it's first class in simyears. I must admit, I am quite proud of everything. The Wilsonoff family commissioned the Wilsonoff School of Business, while the Herendez family donated to the Arts Building. Other donations include a piano from the Kents to the Fine Arts School and the Warwicks even donated simoleans for the fountain to be installed.

While the university is still taking shape and preparing for the first students, I am overseeing the Vocational Training classes in the hood. I am lining up guest lecturers to speak on thier dedicated talent. Antonio has agreed to give a talk about the basics of pottery and Jadhira has also agreed to speak concerning basic flower arrangement. These classes will help residents expand thier knowledge beyond the basic skills of cooking and cleaning. Also, this will give a way for those not interested in university to find out other ways to apply thier intelligence.

Financial Director: Jonagold Shoppes

2009-01-25T19:09:00.000-08:00

I'm pleased to annouced the grand opening of the Jonagold Shoppes I and Jonagold Shoppes II. I am posting exclusive photos of Jonagold Shoppes II, located behind Daniels Row near the main ferry road.

Residents can expect to find lots of shops targeting various hobbies and interests. There is the Bohemian Books, where many sims find themselves discussing the latest books or films. Culinary Cooks Rock, a cooking school and showcase for the best cooks to compete in cooking competitions. An indoor sports arena, dance hall, stand-up comedy club, gym and my personal favorite, a two level artists studio specializing in classes in pottery, sewing, painting and toy construction.

Jonagold Shoppes I features stores for the basic shopping needs of our residents.

Archives/Technology: New Calendar and Blog Schedule

2009-01-01T18:08:00.000-08:00

New Calendar
There has been much discussion about a new calendar for Apple Valley. Many residents feel that the #Season-#Simday isn't reflective of the dynamic nature of the hood. Also, some residents are pushing for 2 simday rotations instead of 1 simday rotations. The hood council discussed that if we move to 2-simday rotations, then households will have to wait longer for thier turn and this will throw the publication of the newspaper and other news off.

Right now we require all households to be on the same simday (ie simMonday, Fall Day 2) , but this might change when families start to move into the hood (now requiring that they move in on the start if a season, not simMonday as before).

However, to make sense of the dynamical nature of the hood (who would believe that during the rotation of Doe's home, John Doe has a crush on Jane Smith and they have a successful date, but during the rotation of the Smith home, Jane falls in love with John and they marry-all in the same simday!) Thus we will revive the ancient tradition of SimLonic Calendar.

The SimLonic Calendar
-8 months
-one or more household(s) will be featured each month

Season/Month/Info

Spring/Hapar/Month of Happiness
Spring/Lovar/Month of Love

Summer/ Patar/ Month of Patience
Summer/ Remar/ Month of Remembering

Autumn/ Havar/ Month of Harvesting
Autumn/ Resar/ Month of Resting

Winter/ Givar/ Month of Giving
Winter/ Peacar/ Month of Peace

The new calendar will go into effect immediately (simTuesday) with the year 2000. The only changes will be the dates in the newspaper and website will no longer say simday.

Blog Schedule
Families will not which month they are updating for and blogs will now be updated every 4 days in month order. We will try this rotation and schedule for a while before re-evaluating whether or not to move to one blog for the entire community much like Lakeside Heights.

Pastoral Notes: Church Fees

2008-12-29T16:37:00.000-08:00

Instead of a raise, from now on fees for weddings and funerals will be paid directly to me. I will be paid 75% of the fee and the remaining 25% will go towards the upkeep of the church.

Education Note: Economy and PAG

2008-12-26T20:16:00.000-08:00

The economy has affected even PAG. It was noted earlier that PAG decided to build it's campus on another small nearby island instead of AV Metro. PAG is changing it's name to Pierce University that specializes in university degrees and the board has approved a plan for a local administration of the university. They offered the job as University President. My job duties will increase as Educational Director and thankfully I'll have a much better salary since PU will be paying me. Some immediate changes, thanks to the economic downturn, are increased fees and admission requirements:

Apple Valley Academy: §100 a SimYear (Hapar-Peacar) per student.
Application for Graduation from AVA: C average or better, score a 6 in one skill exam.

Pierce University: §1000/semester
Kimkura University: §4000/year

Admissions to Pierce University: A score of at least 15 on thier entrance exam and at least 15 skill points to enter.

GPA (3pts-A, 2pts-B, 1pt-C)
+ # Extracurriculars (1pt each)
+ # Skill points (1pt each)
+ # Hobby Points
+ # Years Work Experience

Each class is limited to four sims each.

Admissions to Kimikura University: A score of at least 15 on thier entrance exam, at least a 3.0 GPA, and at least 15 skill points to enter.

+ # GPA points (4pts-4.0, 3.9 pts-3.9, etc)
+ # Extracurriculars (1pt each)
+ # Skill points (1pt each)
+ # Hobby Points

Each class is limited to two sims each.

Medical Notes: New Medical Centre & Fees

2008-12-20T19:02:00.000-08:00

With the slowing of the economy, every resident is making cutbacks, including the medical centre.

New Centre
We have sold the land that the medical centre sits on and with the help of Li Sweeny, we're revamping the medical centre. Let's face it, we're a small hood and we do not need the high tech services as the larger hoods, The medical centre will now have a small gift shop and pharmacy, examination room, small waiting area, and small operation room (with plastic surgery, labor and delivery and other surgeries).

Job Cutbacks
We no longer have the need for a pharmacist, which is probably great news to the young man we hired. I have a feeling that he rather be anywhere but here. However, that means that for the time being I must run everything. I will now attend all births and surgeries.

Fee Increases
Fees have also increased for several medical services.

Education Note: Economy's Effects on AVA

2008-12-17T19:44:00.000-08:00

The economy has effected the construction of AVA. Instead of the state of the art facility we had planned, we've had to scrape plans and revise a smaller cheaper school. We had to demolish the building and sell the materials for scrap in order to save money. I know, it sounds odd, but a lot of civic buildings are doing the same thing.

Curriculm
The curriculm is the same. Students must pass the Skills Exams with the same scores.

Classes
The main difference is that classes will be mostly lectured based except for the following:
-Music, students will study the piano.
-Art, students will study the fine art of painting and sketching.
-PE, students will study tai chi, yoga, boxing, ballet, football and aerobic fitness.

Building
The new building will consist of 2 main classrooms (elementary/junior high and high school), one general purpose classroom (with piano, ballet barre and indoor easels), small cafeteria and outdoor space.

Jobs
We are the only civic owned building not decreasing jobs. We are in need of a primary school teacher and are currently searching for that (if you know of a teacher, or wish to apply, please email me.)

Infrastructure and Restricted Import Laws

2008-12-15T19:14:00.000-08:00

Some good news and bad news.

New Infrastructure for the Hood
-The hood council approved the proposal for new infrastructure for the hood. We now have a slightly better system, however there is some bad news.

Restricted Import Laws
-Only the most necessary items will be allowed to be imported. Effective immediately, only items created by the MAXIS company can be used. We have already approved modifications of MAXIS appliances as well as a few tables and chairs from PiggiSims. Some wallpaper and floor tiles are being investigated from Parsimonious. Clothing has been ordered from All-About-Style and stylists have been trained for Nouk hairstyles and Lyran makeup only. Modifications of such MAXIS items will be allowed on a case-by case basis. Applications must be submitted for each item. To ensure that superficial requests do not flood my inbox, all families must wait until simThursday (it is now the dawn of simTuesday) to submit any requests. Requests will be handled based on how many families have a need for an item.

Financial Notes: Economy Slowing

2008-12-13T19:43:00.000-08:00

The economy has been slowing and many residents are making cutbacks, some business owners are selling thier businesses to access the capital in exchange for simoleans, which means some sims will be out of jobs.

Thankfully we have met and have a plan for the hood to survive these changes.

Residents will move to gated communities. These homes are more affordable with 7 simday leases and allow for more intimacy in the hood with residential relations. This also allows residents to tap into thier home equity to free up cash reserves. This is not an option, residents are expected to be moved into a home by simTuesday (except for the Grey family).
Business owners will have the option to consolidate thier businesses and/or sell them for the value of thier business. The remaining business lots will be consolidated to free up land space from the 1x1 lots to 2x1 and 3x1 lots. (Similar to Simmington Hill's Cedar Street Shops). This allows business owners to free up cash reserves.
Residents will recieve 3 simdays of free ferry fare to Apple Valley Metro in order to find jobs.
Career Capping will be instated: there will be a limited number of spaces available in each career track (2 sims per track) and once full no sims can take up a career in that path until a vacancy becomes clear. Once a vacancy is noted, the sim with the higher skills, interests, etc will be hired. Sims may still apply for jobs with local businesses to no limit.
Welfare is still available for needy sims. Residents can apply for welfare options.

President: Plans for the Term

2008-11-28T15:11:00.000-08:00

For my term as Hood Council President, I propose the follow:

Coordinate the Hood Council's work

With the opening of Apple Valley Metro, the hood council must also oversee that small urban island as well as the small island where PAG is located. This means our territory is larger and the work is harder this term.

Coordinate hood council meetings

The same as always: simTuesday and simThursday evenings. Except now we will have more casual closed meetings for the main council only.

Official spokesim for the hood

Apple Valley Pride
Create an Apple Valley flag

Manage foreign alliances

Urban Access
Continue to invest in a more urban landscape for Apple Valley Metro. This would allow businesses to relocate to this urban center and apartments and multi-family housing to be built. This would allow Apple Valley proper to be the suburban haven for families filled with green space and parks. The island is approximately a 30 minute ferry ride from Apple Valley.
SUN Affliates
Visit SUN hood affiliates and discuss ways our hoods can become better connected.
SUN Exchange
Host a SUN Exchange family

Enforce laws and immigration/emigration

Seperate Immigration Laws
Establish seperate immigration laws concerning teens for educational purposes and single adults for relationship purposes.
Stricter Enforcement of Fines
Make sure that Security Director enforces fines
Increase Fees and Establish New Fees
Doing hood business is expensive and residents will be asked to take on more of thier fair share.
Newspaper Delivery: All households receiving the Apple Valley News must pay $20 subscription charge per week to the current editor-in-chief.

Serve as SUN Core member

Oversees administrative business lots

Community Director: Plans

2008-11-28T14:02:00.000-08:00

My plans for the term as Community Director:

Secure family values, uphold rights for children and elders

Mandatory Family Day
On simSaturday: Families must get out of the house and visit community lots, go on vacations, etc.
Retirement Community
Assist with the planning of the retirement community.

Ensure a family friendly and healthy community for current & future generations.

Spirit of Community Awards
Given to residents that protray the spirit of Apple Valley. Must be nominated. There will be a ceremony for the winner and a prize.
Beautiful Apple Awards
Given to homes/businesses that are astechically pleasing in thier landscaping
Green Apple Awards
Designation given to businesses that promote a greener world with thier environmental practices.

Create a Pet Policy
Animals need to be governed by some policy, either registered, etc.
Pet Registration: All pets must be registered and wearing a collar.

Set Up a Better System for Interest Groups
Currently there's the Homemaker's Society, Garden Club, Historical Society and Grey Sims (no active members). There has been talk of a Book Club and a Financial/Investment Club, not to mention extracurriculars with the children.
Increase Housing Options
Increase housing options for single adults, retirees and small families to relieve spacing issues in family homes. Apartment complexes and multi-family housing in AV Metro, a retirement community on AV Proper, and gated communities in AV Proper.

Farming Options
Create a subsidy so that the farm may purchase full composting bins from residents
Fitness Park/Gym
Construct a fitness park and gym for the hood or contact sources in AV Metro to have a fitness park established there as well.

Ensure adequate culture, local food produce, restaurants and bars, & social meeting places.

Community Art Competition
Encourage more culture and arts in the hood by hosting an art competition. Residents will be able to submit a painting or photograph for the competition. The entries will be displayed at The Centre. The winning entry will be purchased and hung in The Centre and the winner will receive a small simolean prize. This competition should be done once each season to build up the community art collection.

Ms. Apple Pagent
Host a Ms. Apple Pagent for area child/teen females.

Increase Culture and Social Options
Add a sports park for residents to enjoy soccer, basketball, rollarskating/ice skating

Create a children's park with updated playground equiptment to free up space at Alisa Crawston Park for concert events, fishing and picnics.

Build a small concert arena at Alisa Crawston Park for special events.

Ensure a quality education system for residents

Monitor the Educational Director & PAG Headmaster.

Sign up local businesses to support the PAG by offering apprenticeships and scholarships.
Finish construction of PAG on nearby island, allowing students the freedom of being away from home, but the security that they are still nearby.

Financial Director: Plans

2008-11-28T07:54:00.000-08:00

Here are my plans for the term.

Local businesses and associated laws

Establish a program for New Small Business Owners:
Give new business owners $1000-$3000 credit towards purchase of a community lot.
Help business owners network with other small business owners in other hoods, perhaps the resurgance of the Small Business Conference.

Establish a shareholder system for small businesses
Establish a plan for business certificates.
Business owners must purchase business certificates for a cost. The certificate must be displayed at all times due to random checks. A file will be kept in the administrative offices.

Economic Research
Research the wages of local workers and note the averages. Set a minimum wage based on averages from expenses and poverty lines.
Increase of job options due to Apple Valley Metro opening up.

Implement taxes and welfare support

Continue current tax structure.

Manage the local real estates and architectural planning of the hood

Gated Communities
With the new deal signed, look into creating gated communities within the hood so that families can interact on a more intimate basis. Will include a luxury gated community, attached townhomes. This will free up land space for parks, community lots and better school. All residents will move into these gated communities except for the Grey family as they must manage thier farm and provide the hood with fresh produce.
Single Sim Housing
With the new apartment complexes being built on Apple Valley Metro, single sims and recent graduates will be able to find cheaper housing. This will also allow the hood to allow more immigration.
Retirement Community
Many elder sims do not wish to be a part of the day-to-day activities in thier home now that thier children are adults. A retirement community is planned so that they may enjoy thier golden years doing what they enjoy.

Education Note: Fundraiser

2008-11-05T08:34:00.000-08:00

The academy is in need of some remodeling (study room & office for me) and new equiptment (musical equiptment, ballet barre). To raise money, the school will have a bake sale/crafts fair. All students will contribute something to sell, either a crafted item (painting, flower arrangement, pottery) or a baked item (dessert or meal). We will then open the school afterhours (well, the patio of the school) and sell the items.

Educational Notes: PAG International Partners

2008-10-13T15:12:00.000-07:00

PAG is making quite an impact and we haven't even opened the doors to the first class, however we have recieved some wonderful news!

Kimikura University has opened its doors to the students of PAG for a study aboard program. So we worked with the president there to establish a program for the students.

Why do we want PAG students to have the opportunity to study abroad? Study abroad can be an enriching and eye-opening adventure, where learning extends to the world beyond the classroom walls. There is no substitute for living and studying in a foreign country if one wants to gain in-depth knowledge of another culture's customs, sims, and language.

Students can chose to study abroad for a semester or for an entire academic year.

Semester Study Abroad (3days/2nights)/Year Long Study Abroad (6days/5nights)

Tuition costs are the same and do not include airfare, room or board at Kimikura University.

Kimikura University will save space at the Kimikura Hall for students to reside in. There is a small communal kitchenette along with a cafeteria. Students will enjoy a study room and small rec room. Dorm rooms range from the simple to the deluxe with options for single students or roommates.

I can not wait to share photos of this endeavour.

Education Note: New AVA Campus

2008-09-26T07:02:00.000-07:00

Construction is complete, downstairs there is the elementary (two classrooms, one for lower elementary (K-2) and one for upper elementary(3-5) and restrooms) and junior high pods (two classrooms, simlish and science; and restroom) and enclosed glass cafeteria.

Upstairs is the high school pod with music room, fitness hall, simlish classroom, art classroom and science classroom. As well as enclosed cafeteria and restrooms.

President's Note: Apple Valley Metro

2008-09-22T18:03:00.000-07:00

Finally the news is offical, Apple Valley Metro can be unveiled. We have purchased the nearby tiny island (a twenty minute ferry ride) and established Apple Valley Metro.

The heart of Apple Valley Metro was going to be the PAG campus, 50% of the tiny island was PAG property. However PAG decided that a seperate island (one hour ferry ride) would do better for the students so that they had no fear of running into family members. PAG allowed us to keep paying for our portion of the island even though they would not be active on AVM. There are also urban properties being built (designed by Apple Valley's own Li Sweeny) to accommadate housing for multiple familes in the form of apartment complexes, townhomes and condos. We have agreed to allow PAG graduates a guarenteed percentage of the dwellings, so that they would have a place to return to after graduation. Also, they can expect subsidized rent.

We are hopeful that the island will be open for the public by the end of this simWinter.

Educational Note: School Changes

2008-09-19T08:22:00.000-07:00

With the new school building almost complete, we decided to seperate the building into wings: high school, junior high school, and elementary school. Students should check the online website to see what grade level they have been assigned. We have been given premission to test new technology for aging and as a result, the new curriculm/grading/age requirements:

Elementary School
(children 0-6 simdays)
-generalized studies in all skill sets. Must pass skills exam with at least a one in five skills
-typical school day: morning period-skill studying/lunch break & recess/afternoon-skill studying
Junior High School
(teenagers 7-4 simdays remaining until adulthood)
-generalized studies in all skill sets. Must pass skills exam with at least a one in all skills
-typical school day: morning period-skill studying/lunch break/afternoon-skill studying

Secondary Education: Grades 9 & 10
(teenagers 4-2 simdays remaining until adulthood)
-specialized studies . Must pass skills exam with at least a four in one skill.
-typical school day: morning period-skill studying/lunch break/afternoon-skill studying

Secondary Education Grades 11 & 12
(teenagers 2 simdays remaining until adulthood)
-specialized studies. Students can chose up to three skill areas for specialized studies. Must pass skills exam with at least a six in at least one chosen specialized skill.
-typical school day: morning period-specialized studying/lunch break/afternoon-specialized studying

Classes:
Classes are assigned with the help of the teacher. All students will take the following classes at least once. Classes are assigned depending on which specialized area is chosen and focuses within the class are chosen based on student preference.

Art & Music:
Students study art by composing thier own paintings and photography series, field trips to the local art gallery. Students study music by studying the violin or piano.

Elementary/Junior High : Students will spend at least one class period painting or learning the piano.
High School: Students will spend class periods learning the violin, piano or focusing on painting/photography.

Science:
Students study science by observing bacteria in microscopes, maintaining ant farms, repairing and creating basic electronic equiptment and observing nature.

Elementary/Junior High : Students will spend at least one class period observing bacteria, ants or nature (by hunting for bugs or birdwatching) and at least one class period creating basic electronic equiptment or listening to a lecture on general mechanics.
High School: Students will spend class periods observing birds, maintaining ant farms, studying bacteria or creating electronic equiptment.

Simish & History:
Students learn simish and history by composing letters and essays, presenting speeches, reading assignments and some movie viewing assignments.

Elementary/Junior High : Students will spend at least one class period presenting speeches and at least one class period doing reading assignments.
High School: Students will spend class periods presenting speeches, reading novels and writing articles.

Physical Education:
Students practice tai chi, yoga, boxing, ballet, football and aerobic fitness. Students also learn about nutrition and healthy eating.

Junior High: Students will spend at least one class period practicing boxing or football and at least one class period learning ballet.
High School: Students will spend class periods learning the tai chi, yoga and aerobic fitness.

Home Economics:
Students learn to maintain thier living space by learning proper cleaning concepts, and basic cooking recipes.

Elementary/Junior High : Students will spend at least one class period learning proper cleaning concepts and at least one class period learning basic cooking recipes.
High School: Students will spend class periods learning the advanced cleaning concepts and recipes.

Freetime/Recess/Lunch:
Students are able to spend thier freetime playing games, reading or chatting with friends while eating thier lunch.

Homework
Students are given homework 2-3 times a simweek. Homework usually consists of simple assignments to be done with the help of the family. Occasionally students are asked to complete projects started on at school at home or to create projects at home and bring them to school.

Archives/Technology Officer Note: Cleaning Up

2008-09-14T22:50:00.001-07:00

It's time again to clean up the import files. Some residents have complained about congrestion in the roadways, so we are working on making things go quicker. Hopefully by deleting files that have vague names will free up lots of space.

Education Notes: PAG Urban Campus and AVA Campus

2008-09-05T07:40:00.000-07:00

After a meeting with the hood council and the PU board, the PAG campus will be relocating. AV proper doesn't have enough room for the plans of the PU Board. PAG will be moving to AV Metro, the nearby island that we have purchased. Actually, PU has paid for 75% of the purchase cost of the island and the costs to make it livable since most of the island will be the PAG campus.

The new campus will have more classroom buildings and seperate dorms in addition to some subsidized off-campus housing in the form of apartments surrounding the campus. AV Metro will also provide additional housing for younger sims without congesting ancestoral homes in AV Proper.

The old PAG campus will be converted to the AVA campus and the old AVA and teacher home will be demolished. A small 2x2 lot and house will be built (which I am proud to say that I will be owning)

Cashier Job Security and Business Restructing

2008-07-31T18:55:00.000-07:00

Cashier Job Security

There is a major fear that with the new automated register machines that many sims will be out of a job. After talking with several business owners and reaching a compromise, the fear will be unfounded, especially once the business restructuring is complete.

Old Position->New Position

Cashier @ CupaJava -> Robot Crafter @ Toy Shoppe

Cashier @ Toy Shoppe -> Musician @ "unnamed" jazz club

Cashier @ Farmer's Market -> Flower Arranger @ Farmer's Market

Cashier @ Blossom Salon -> Massuese @ Blossom Salon

Cashier @ AV Bank -> Sales Manager @ AV Bank

Cashier @ AV Gift Shop -> Bartender @ "unnamed" irish sports bar

Cashier @ Medical Centre -> Pharmacist Trainee @ Medical Centre

Business Restructing

We have decided to restructure the main throughway of the hood. Instead of four large 3x1 lots that hold businesses, we are dividing the land into 12-1x1 lots. The new shops will resemble a "main street" style shop (see "Yale Lock Shop"). Business owners will have the opportunity to trade in thier 3x1 lots for 3-1x1 lots, or sell back to the hood the unneeded lots. With this change comes the change that business lots may only hold one business (no more diner/club/store/salon). Construction will begin this simday so that the project can be completed before the new council takes over.

So far we have gotten the following agreements:

R.Wilsonoff: Toy Shoppe; The Peacock; The Green Tables (gaming hall); "unnamed" teen arcade & hangout (selling back 2-1x1 lots)

S.Warwick: CupaJava; "unnamed" irish sports bar; "unnamed" jazz club

A. Herendez: Blossom Salon; Herendez Gallery; un-named Clothing Boutique

Controversial 3rd Party Technology Approved

2008-07-27T18:35:00.000-07:00

Controversial 3rd Party Technology was approved today. Business owners are now able to use an automatic register machine that scans customer purchases on the way out of the store and allows customers to pay at the machine. This eliminates the need for cashiers at business lots resulting in many residents fearing about thier jobs. The Financial Director will state more about this effect and the results.

Archives/Technology Note: Historical Roster and Anniversaries

2008-07-13T15:05:00.000-07:00

Decided to keep an historical roster with the date of important events (any event that has paperwork associated with it). The roster will be an excel sheet and searchable by other hoods to research things like family histories, anniversaries of siblings, etc.

Speaking of anniversaries, the president asked me to address that here. Anniversaries are celebrated on the same day each season. For example, a couple marries on 1Winter-Day4; then thier anniversary is on 2Spring-Day 4, 2Summer-Day4, 2Fall-Day4, etc. The same format follows for all other anniversaries (ie-graduations).

Education Notes: Graduation

2008-07-09T09:56:00.000-07:00

Graduation Requirements.

In order to successfully graduate from each level, students must pass the following criteria:

Primary Education
(children)
-Must pass skills exam with at least a one in all skills

Secondary Education Level I
(teenagers 12-8 simdays remaining until adulthood)
-Must pass skills exam with at least a four in one skill.

Secondary Education Level II
(teenagers 8-4 simdays remaining until adulthood)
-Must pass skills exam with at least a eight in at least one chosen specialized skill.

Pastoral Notes: Renovations

2008-07-09T09:23:00.001-07:00

The Food Expo is upon us again and we're doing major renovations to the church. We plan on adding a fellowship hall so special events can take place at the church. To raise money we're doing a charity fish fry and selling fish plates for §25. We're also asking families to purchase a pew for §500 and thier name will be added to a small plaque on the pew.

Election Speeches

2008-07-08T13:57:00.000-07:00

The candidates did thier speeches this past simday.

Fiona Kent-Presidential Candidate

Carmela Herendez-Community Director Candidate

Jolie Dawson-Community Director Candidate

Sazo Kent-Financial Director Candidate

Rebecca Wilsonoff-Financial Director Candidate

Education Director Note: Extracurriculars and Level III

2008-06-12T06:28:00.000-07:00

First-Secondary Level III is no longer an option. Teens not pursuing higher education are free to do what they wish with the remaining four simdays until they become adults. This includes finding jobs, traveling or doing independent study at home.

Extracurriculars!
Got the SimExplorers extracurricular approved. We have an Explorer Leader, Julio Wilsonoff; uniforms (children and teen sizes) are being made and will be delivered soon and we have a few children enrolled. Julio will host the first meeting at Celebration Park, according to his agenda, they will be discussing a camping trip to Schwinster (spelling?) Mountains and handing out uniforms. I'm supposed to check in periodically with the group, but he basically runs it.

Yearbook was also approved as an extracurricular. Only teens are allowed to work on it. They will take various photos throughout the simweek and complie the book. Students will have the opportunity to buy one every simweek. Antonio Herendez has agreed to help the students with thier photos.

Swim Team was approved. Jorge Dawson has agreed to coach it. Students compete in meets everyweekend and train throughout the week.

Finally Su Hoga Su was approved. The honor society is for teens only (A/B students) and they participate in community service. I am the leader of this club for now.

Website Work

2008-06-11T14:22:00.000-07:00

I've been reading comments and suggestions about the site's navigation and doing research on how to make the blogs easier to find and navigate. I believe I have a system, so it will be unveiled soon. Articles will be linked from the home page for quicker access and I will also be taking the articles from the old website and putting them in a blog type format-since the pop up ads have been annoying to visitors.

Continue to leave comments on how the site can be better or what's working!

Education Director Note: AVA Page

2008-06-03T13:08:00.000-07:00

We've been granted webspace! Yes! Now AVA holds a spot in simnation. I've been working on the page. This has required me to think about what information should be on the page and how to present it. This is different from PAG-since community parents and students will check the webpage for information.

Education Notes: Grading & Curriculm Changes

2008-05-30T21:51:00.000-07:00

Many parents have wanted to know exactly how I grade and there's been...external pressure to say the least about the curriculm standards so I'm addressing them both here.

Primary Education
(children)
-generalized studies in all skill sets. Must pass skills exam with at least a one in all skills
-typical school day: morning period-skill studying/lunch break & recess/afternoon-skill studying
-GRADING: Students learn one skill a day and recieve an A for thier efforts. Going above that effort results with an A+

Secondary Education Level I
(teenagers 12-8 simdays remaining until adulthood)
-specialized studies . Must pass skills exam with at least a four in one skill.
-typical school day: morning period-skill studying/lunch break/afternoon-skill studying
-GRADING: Students learn at least one skill a day and recieve an A for thier efforts. Going above that effort results with an A+

Secondary Education Level II
(teenagers 8-4 simdays remaining until adulthood)
-specialized studies. Students can chose up to three skill areas for specialized studies. Must pass skills exam with at least a eight in at least one chosen specialized skill.
-typical school day: morning period-specialized studying/lunch break & recess/afternoon-specialized studying
-GRADING: Students learn at least one skill a day and recieve an A for thier efforts. Going above that effort results with an A+

Secondary Education Level III
(teenagers 4 simdays remaining until adulthood that are not attending PAG)
-continued specialized studies. Students can chose up to three skill areas for specialized studies. Must pass skills exam with at least a eight in at least one chosen specialized skill and at least a four in another skill.
-typical school day: morning period-specialized studying/lunch break & recess/afternoon-specialized studying
-GRADING: Students learn one skill a day and recieve an A for thier efforts. Going above that effort results with an A+

Classes:
Classes are assigned with the help of the teacher. All students will take the following classes at least once. Classes are assigned depending on which specialized area is chosen and focuses within the class are chosen based on student preference.

Art & Music:
Students study art by composing thier own paintings and photography series, field trips to the local art gallery. Students study music by studying the violin.

Primary Education/Secondary Education Level I: Students will spend at least one class period painting and at least one class period learning violin.
Secondary Education Level II/III: Students will spend class periods learning the violin or focusing on painting/photography.

Science:
Students study science by observing bacteria in microscopes, maintaining ant farms, repairing and creating basic electronic equiptment and observing nature.

Primary Education/Secondary Education Level I: Students will spend at least one
class period observing bacteria, ants or nature (by hunting for bugs or birdwatching) and at least one class period creating basic electronic equiptment.
Secondary Education Level II/III: Students will spend class periods observing birds, maintaining ant farms, studying bacteria or creating electronic equiptment.

Simish & History:
Students learn simish and history by composing letters and essays, presenting speeches, reading assignments and some movie viewing assignments.

Primary Education/Secondary Education Level I: Students will spend at least
one class period presenting speeches and at least one class period doing reading assignments.
Secondary Education Level II/III: Students will spend class periods presenting speeches and writing.

Physical Education:
Students practice tai chi, yoga, boxing, ballet, football and aerobic fitness. Students also learn about nutrition and healthy eating.

Secondary Education Level I: Students will spend at least one class period practicing boxing or football and at least one class period learning ballet.
Secondary Education Level II/III: Students will spend class periods learning the tai chi, yoga and aerobic fitness.

Home Economics:
Students learn to maintain thier living space by learning proper cleaning concepts, and basic cooking recipes.

Primary Education/Secondary Education Level I: Students will spend at least one class period learning proper cleaning concepts and at least one class period learning basic cooking recipes.
Secondary Education Level II/III: Students will spend class periods learning the advanced cleaning concepts and recipes.

President's Note: The Centre

2008-05-24T12:47:00.000-07:00

With salaries increasing, we're trying to find ways to make up the funds without increasing taxes. One way is The Centre. We have fees for renting out the party room for events such as weddings , parties and ceremonies. Also, I will try to increase the number of customers purchasing newspapers, buying items and of course thier filing fees for births, deaths, etc.

Food Expo 2008

2008-05-21T07:30:00.000-07:00

The Food Expo 2008 is almost here. All lectures/events at Farmer's Market unless noted. Since it will still be fall, not quite winter, weather shouldn't be a problem.

June-Food in the Garden
Opening CeremonyOpening Address: Ayanna Kent, Hood Council President

Lectures

Plans for an Effecient Garden-Grex Grey

Contests

Fishing Contest (Celebration Park) (same rules as last year)

Raffle for §100 gift certificate from Farmer's Market

Events

Charity Fish Fry (Celebration Park) §5/sim (use the fish from the fishing contest, benefits the church)

July-Food in the Kitchen

Lectures

Kitchen Designs-Jolie Dawson

Contests

Cooking Competition

Raffle for §100 gift certificate from CupaJava

Events

Cookbook Signing with Jolie Dawson (CupaJava)

Lemonade Sale (Dawson Central Plaza) (benefits the school)

August-Food on the Table

Lectures

A Well Set Table-Fiona Kent

Contests

Raffle for §2500 Dining Room Makeover (§50/Ticket)

Raffle for §100 Dinner at The Peacock

Events

Neighborhood Potluck (Dawson Central Plaza) (each family brings a dish)

Website Layout Changes

2008-05-13T07:30:00.000-07:00

The website is horrible and in need of better organization. I have written out plans for each section and overall navigation:

Residential Directory

Will add photos of the home and each sim to the directory. Thumbnail images only.
Will add a census section to include number of sims grouped by ages/gender

Community Life

Will add a more in-depth club/organization section
Want to reorganize the site to make things easier to find-this section has become a catch-all section.
Current page listing in community life includes:
Apple Valley News;
Administration, Laws and Rights;
Archival Room;
Pierce Apprenticeship Guild (PAG);
Clubs & Organizations;
Council Meeting Minutes;
Office of Tourism;
Residential Information;
Tours;
This SimWeek in Apple Valley;
Yellow Pages;
A better way to organize this information might be the following
(bold=page linked from toolbar; normal=page linked from the bold page):

Community Life:
Apple Valley News;
Clubs & Organizations;
This SimWeek in Apple Valley;
Office of Tourism (with Tours as a sublink of this page);

Administration Office:
Administration, Laws and Rights;
Council Meeting Minutes;
Archival (and Records) Room;
Link to new page on Education: Apple Valley Academy & PAG

Yellow & White Pages:
Residential Information;
Yellow Pages;
Pierce Apprenticeship Guild (PAG);
(links to the Community Store and A. Pentragnani)

Leave comments/suggestions. Feel free to leave any concerns/issues you have had with navigating the site as well.

Financial Director Note: Budget Funds

2008-05-11T07:49:00.000-07:00

I propose that the budget have funds established in the budget item for the following areas and managed by the following staff members:

General Fund
-Hood President

Covers expenses for foreign alliances, council administration, immigration/emigration, welfare.

Economic Development Fund

-Financial Director

Covers expenses for local trades and stores, home businesses, imports.

Community Development Fund

-Community Director

Covers expenses for culture, focal farming & fishing, general beautifying (plants, landscape, community lots)

Education Fund

-Education Director

Covers expenses for the administration of the academy & apprenticeship guild

Security Fund

-Security Director

Covers expenses for local infrastructure, security, & justice

Public Health Fund

-Medical Centre Director

Covers expenses for the adminstration of the Medical Centre

Archives/Technology Fund

-Archives/Technology Officer

Covers expenses for the community library and archives, press relations, website, electronic infrastructure

This will allow directors to have more control over thier funds for thier projects. This also creates the need for directors to present budget proposals in addition to task proposals at the start of thier term. An initial budget meeting will determine which items are funded and which are not. Some income from the hood residents will go directly to certain funds (ie-payment for security monitering goes to the security fund; tuition payments for the apprenticeship guild goes to the education fund; etc)

Community Director: Naming

2008-05-07T11:52:00.000-07:00

The names for several buildings are very...generic. So we're asking residents to help us name them, starting with the administrative buildings and then going on to the parks and finally the community owned buildings.

Security Note: Funds & Sales

2008-05-04T08:29:00.000-07:00

To help raise simoleans for the security fund I propose that residents are charge $250/simweek for monitoring services on thier security system and $250/simweek for monitoring services on thier fire system. This fee would not include the cost to buy the equiptment. If all residents were outfitted with both monitoring services that would bring in $5000/simweek. The funds would help in paying my salary, making sure vehicles/equiptment are up-to-date for emergency response.

Community Art Collection

2008-04-14T13:48:00.000-07:00

I propose we build up the culture and arts of Apple Valley, first with establishing a community art collection.

It will enable the Hood Council to acquire the highest quality artwork, create community landmarks that foster pride, and incorporate community input into the design of shared public spaces throughout the hood. It also offers opportunities to local artists to display thier craft.

First we will have an art call for submissions that truly reflect Apple Valley. All residents-toddlers thru elders can submit thier artwork. We will take a collection of the artwork and have it etched into the fountain in Central Core Park.

Next we will work on aquiring pieces to place in civic buildings-such as The Centre, Apple Valley Academy, etc.

While we're at it, we should establish a community art musuem. Perhaps the Herendez Gallery would be a good spot-there would be no fees to establish the site, since it's already prepared for art work and we would simply pay to have the installations hanging there. A win-win situation as more residents would visit the gallery to view art work and some might buy his custom pieces.

Medical Centre Director: Fee Schedule

2008-04-14T10:21:00.000-07:00

Good news and bad news. The Medical Centre employees are getting raises. With the cost of living and market rates our raises are now

*Medical Centre Director-§600/simdaily (§3000/simweek)
*Medical Centre Nurse-§400/simdaily (§2000/simweek)
*Medical Centre Surgeon-§500/simdaily (§2500/simweek)
*Medical Centre Psychologist-§500/simdaily (§2500/simweek)

Total Salary Costs=§2,000/simday (§10,000/simweek)

Bad news. To compensate for the higher wages-the fees must increase and changes made to the Medical Centre

The previous Medical/Community fees were:
Broken Limb = §1,500
IVF Treatment =§5,000
Induced Labor= §2,500
Consulation with Doctor =§100
Plastic Surgery/per part= §3,000

New Proposed Fees are:
Broken Limb =§1,500
IVF Treatment =§5,000
Induced Labor= §2,500
Consulation with Doctor (mandatory once each lifespan)= §250
Plastic Surgery/per part =§3,000
Pre-Natal Fees=§2,000
Childbirth Fee=§1,000
Surgery=§2,000

There are other fees for such items as rehabilitation, overnight stays, etc. However, these are a case-by-case basis.

The gift shop will no longer sell oranges and will increase the supply of prescription drugs. A rooftop basketball court and hot tub have been added for healther living while one of the overnight rooms have been remodeled to become a plastic surgery room. An indoor pool has also been installed and hopefully more residents will visit the centre for thier everyday health needs-not just in emergencies.

Community Director: Blessed Harvest Day

2008-04-09T08:23:00.000-07:00

So the proposal for Blessed Harvest Day is as follows:

From noon-6pm, The Farmer's Market will be open for residents to buy turkeys, visit the food competition table and enter their best Blessed Harvest Day entree or side dish (no turkeys), or browse the booths for information about Blessed Harvest Day. At 3pm-I will give a speech about the holiday and then residents can walk to the church for the evening service before retiring to thier homes for the Blessed Harvest meal.

It is very simple due to the wedding of the Hood President's daughter.

Education Note: Revised Academy Curriculm

2008-04-09T07:42:00.000-07:00

Based on the new deal and response from parents, here is a modified curriculm for the academy.

Curriculm
Primary Education
(children)
-generalized studies in all skill sets. Must pass skills exam with at least a one in all skills and at least a three in four skills.
-typical school day: morning period-skill studying/lunch break & recess/afternoon-skill studying

Secondary Education Level I
(teenagers 12-8 simdays remaining until adulthood)
-continued generalized studies in all skills. Must pass skills exam with at least a three in all skills.
-typical school day: morning period-skill studying/lunch break/afternoon-skill studying

Secondary Education Level II
(teenagers 8-4 simdays remaining until adulthood)
-specialized studies. Students can chose up to three skill areas for specialized studies. Must pass skills exam with at least a eight in at least one chosen specialized skill.
-typical school day: morning period-specialized studying/lunch break & recess/afternoon-specialized studying

Secondary Education Level III
(teenagers 4 simdays remaining until adulthood that are not attending the apprenticeship guild)
-continued specialized studies. Students can chose up to three skill areas for specialized studies. Must pass skills exam with at least a eight in at least two chosen specialized skills.
-typical school day: morning period-specialized studying/lunch break & recess/afternoon-specialized studying

Classes:
Classes are assigned with the help of the teacher. All students will take the following classes at least once. Classes are assigned depending on which specialized area is chosen and focuses within the class are chosen based on student preference.

Art & Music:
Students study art by composing thier own paintings and photography series, field trips to the local art gallery. Students study music by studying the violin.

Primary Education/Secondary Education Level I: Students will spend at least one class period painting and at least one class period learning violin.
Secondary Education Level II/III: Students will spend class periods learning the violin or focusing on painting/photography.

Science:
Students study science by observing bacteria in microscopes, maintaining ant farms, repairing and creating basic electronic equiptment and observing nature.

Primary Education/Secondary Education Level I: Students will spend at least one
class period observing bacteria, ants or nature (by hunting for bugs or birdwatching) and at least one class period creating basic electronic equiptment.
Secondary Education Level II/III: Students will spend class periods observing birds, maintaining ant farms, studying bacteria or creating electronic equiptment.

Simish & History:
Students learn simish and history by composing letters and essays, presenting speeches, reading assignments and some movie viewing assignments.

Primary Education/Secondary Education Level I: Students will spend at least
one class period presenting speeches and at least one class period doing reading assignments.
Secondary Education Level II/III: Students will spend class periods presenting speeches and writing.

Physical Education:
Students practice tai chi, yoga, boxing, ballet, football and aerobic fitness. Students also learn about nutrition and healthy eating.

Secondary Education Level I: Students will spend at least one class period practicing boxing or football and at least one class period learning ballet.
Secondary Education Level II/III: Students will spend class periods learning the tai chi, yoga and aerobic fitness.

Home Economics:
Students learn to maintain thier living space by learning proper cleaning concepts, and basic cooking recipes.

Primary Education/Secondary Education Level I: Students will spend at least one class period learning proper cleaning concepts and at least one class period learning basic cooking recipes.
Secondary Education Level II/III: Students will spend class periods learning the advanced cleaning concepts and recipes.

President Note: Salaries

2008-04-08T08:32:00.000-07:00

The salary for civic employees is direly under market. I propose we raise the salaries to make them more competitive as such:

Council President-no change

Council Members-no change (this position requires that the members gain outside employment)

Medical Centre Director-$600/simdaily ($3000/simweek)

Medical Centre Nurse-$400/simdaily ($2000/simweek)

Medical Centre Surgeon-$500/simdaily ($2500/simweek)

Medical Centre Psychologist-$500/simdaily ($2500/simweek)

Archives/Technology Officer-$400/simdaily ($2000/simweek)

Security Director-$500/simdaily ($2500/simweek)

Pastoral Director-$150/simdaily ($750/simweek)

Education Direction-$300/simdaily ($1500/simweek)

In order to fund these raises, I propose the following:
-Medical Centre to update thier fee schedule (please create a proposal outlining this)
-The Centre must raise it's business rank to gain more funding (please create a proposal outlining this)
-Security Director will provide monitoring services for residents (please create a proposal outlining this)

Education Note: Hobbies

2008-03-25T07:18:00.000-07:00

With the new deal, the responsibility seems to have fallen upon me to expose the hood's youngest residents to the world of hobbies and leisure time. Students can become exposed to cuisine through family activities of dining out. Also, students will be exposed to various lesiure time activites when they study for thier skill tests.

Here are some ways in which students will be exposed to leisure activities. I will post another note detailing changes in curriculm and class schedules.

Arts and Crafts

Art Class: Students will take pictures and paint to expose them to art.

Film and Literature

Classroom reading assignments and field trips to art gallery.

Fitness

Physical Education class students will practice tai chi and yoga.

Games

Recess: Students will have access to darts and chess.

Music + Dance

Physical Education class students will pratice ballet. Music class: students will practice violins (take up less space).

Nature

Science class: students will maintain a class aquariam and participate in bird watching and bug collecting.

Science

Science class: students will maintain a class ant farm.

Sports

Physical Education class-students will practice soccer and boxing. Recess, students have access to various balls for playing catch and basketball.

Tinkering

Science class: students will learn to repair objects.

Website Changes

2008-03-14T12:31:00.000-07:00

I think the online paper could use a little more "jazz". Especially the annoucement pages. Perhaps we should ask residents for photos with thier annoucements (Engagement Photos, Birth Annoucements, etc)

Also, Blueberry Bluff allows other hoods to display thier news. I think that Apple Valley should participate in the endeavour, also we should aire local news broadcast on SBN. I would be the natural choice for news anchor.

Another thing, I think we should have id photos of the residents with thier resident profile. Perhaps similar to Simmerville's listing of households.

Education Note: Trades School

2008-03-05T10:28:00.000-08:00

Based on my earlier reports, I indicated that the hood would benefit from a trades school on the isle. This trade school would allow students to study closer to home without taking the long ferry ride to the BAP campus, allow students to study the skills and trades that are necessary to life in Apple Valley and still have the benefits of university life (dorm living, advanced classes and more). Talks with deans at Bryant A Pierce have resulted in a large educational grant for the new campus to be named: Pierce Apprenticeship Guild.

Campus

The campus will not only house rooms for six students and the full time Master Scholar, but the classrooms where students learn thier trades. Students will reside in either single or double rooms. The single rooms are reserved for the student voted Guild Hall Assistant by the other students. Guild Hall Assistants are responsible for ensuring that students are in thier rooms by curfew, the hall bathrooms are presentable for daily inspection and conduct is acceptable on campus at all times. The classrooms will house the best equipment for instruction where the Master Scholar and community partners teach the students necessary skills and training. There is a small yard, dining room and relaxation room, however students may desire to visit community lots for thier recreation needs. Also, parents are not allowed on campus except during designated visiting hours. No visitors are to be allowed in the dorm rooms

Admission
Teens with four simdays remaining until adulthood will be eligible for entrance into the school.

Entrance will be determined by the following rubic:

Interview with the Master Scholar (50%)
Entrance Score Exam (50%)

The entrance score exam details will be listed on the guild's website, however it consists of thier marks in secondary school, number of skills and extracurricular activities/jobs.

The interview with the Master Scholar will be scored on a scale of -100 to 100 points. Interviews are 3 hours long and the beginning interview score and the end interview score are subtracted so that each applicant is on equal footing with the Master Scholar.

Master Scholar
The grant covers the salary of a Master Scholar to manage the school's day-to-day operations. The Master Scholar must be a FENSA society member with a fair number of badges and dedicated to the art of knowledge.

Apprenticeship Opportunities
Students will be given opportunities to work with community partners in thier business for hands-on experience in thier chosen guild. Not all guilds have this opportunity and students must check with the Master Scholar first. If an opportunity exists, the student must have completed two simdays of study and be on track for thier graduation requirements before they are able to accept the opportunity. They will recieve a small stipend for thier work and many students may even recieve a full-time offer once they graduate.

Community Partners
Community partners are asked to open thier businesses for the students to receive hands-on training. Community partners pay a small stipend of §1000 for each student in addition to thier wages. Students can work a maximum of four hours simdaily for the two simdays. Upon thier graduation, the student is free to accept a full-time offer.

Community Partners are also asked to teach some classes to allow students to gain appreciation for how thier skills and badges will be used after graduation.

Guilds
Seven guilds were created as a result of the campus. Community Partners were inducted as founding members and guild members will be in charge of leading the guild (after graduation). Each guild must submit a proper name and insignia. This insignia will grace the guild diplomas. Each guild is free to have thier own induction ceremony for graduates, in addition to the school wide graduation.

Security Note: No Enforcement

2008-02-27T14:20:00.000-08:00

How can I enforce without a jail? Better yet, how can I enfore when residents don't think my job is neccessary. Many of the residents think that my position is a waste of tax simoleans, they fail to realize my role. The hood council said that writing a security note listing my duties would help.

Solve local conflicts
Serve as judge for minor distrubances (vandalism, noise issues, fights, etc)

Manage domestic security
Patrol the access road
Patrol the neighborhood
Enforce the teenage curfew

Serve as local police officer with office at The Centre
Be available for questions and concerns
Give classes about security
Manage the voting procedures

Hood Council Note: Education Curriculm

2008-02-25T10:03:00.000-08:00

I saw the copy of the Professional Jobs Report and have looked at the current curriculm to make neccessary changes. 88% of jobs require a degree or technical badge; 38% require only a degree; 50% require some form or technical badge; while 25% require no advanced educational training.

I have determined that Apple Valley would benefit from a trades campus on the island to award trade degrees for the jobs on the isle. Basically preparing our future sitizens for work on the isle. This would help keep students nearby instead of them making the long commute to Bryant A Pierce University. In fact, the hood should no longer be associated with the university as there are questions about objectivity.

Based on this, I propose the following curriculm changes

Primary Education
(children)

-generalized studies in all skill sets except physical education. Must pass
skills exam with at least a one in all skills and at least a three in four
skills.
-typical school day: morning period-skill studying/lunch break & recess/afternoon-skill studying

Secondary Education Level I
(teenagers 12-8 simdays remaining until adulthood)

-continued generalized studies in all skills. Must pass skills exam with at least a three in all skills.
-typical school day: morning period-skill studying/lunch break/afternoon-skill studying

Secondary Education Level II
(teenagers 8-4 simdays remaining until adulthood)

-specialized studies. Students can chose up to three skill areas for specialized
studies. Must pass skills exam with at least a eight in at least one chosen
specialized skill.
-typical school day: morning period-specialized studying/lunch break & recess/afternoon-specialized studying

Secondary Education Level III

(teenagers 4 simdays remaining until adulthood that are not attending trades school)

-continued specialized studies. Students can chose up to three skill areas
for specialized studies. Must pass skills exam with at least a eight in at least
two chosen specialized skills.
-typical school day: morning period-specialized studying/lunch break & recess/afternoon-specialized studying

This would allow students to spend time at home playing and doing homework instead of focusing on skill studies. With the new deal approaching, students will also be able to concentrate on thier hobbies and extracurricular pursuits.

Hood Council Note: Professional Jobs

2008-02-23T09:04:00.000-08:00

Residents are upset about the lack of "professional" jobs in the hood. For my purposes, I've defined "professional" to mean a job that requires a university degree or advanced training not readily available. I've done a survey and discovered the following:

The Medical Centre requires a university degree to be eligible for a job.
Medical Centre Director-Pre-Medical Biology or Psychology degree
Nurse-Psychology degree
Pharmacist-Natural Science degree
Surgeon-Pre-Medical Biology degree

Some Civic Employees are required to hold degrees pertaining to thier position.
Hood Council President-Pre-Law or Political Science degree
Hood Council Financial Director-Economics or Business Administration degree
Hood Council Community Director-Psychology degree
Educational Director-Education degree
Archives/Technology Officer-Literature or Engineering or History degree
Police Officer-Pre-Law or Political Science degree
Pastor-none

Business Owners require the following skills/degrees for jobs

CupaJava
Barista-none
Cashier-silver register badge or Business Administration degree
Baker-cooking experience of level 5 or higher
Sales-silver sales badge or Business Administration or Psychologydegree

The Toy Shoppe
Crafter-silver toy making badge
Cashier-silver register badge or Business Administration degree
Sales-silver sales badge or Business Administration or Psychology degree

Fresh Flora
Crafter-silver flower making badge
Cashier-silver register badge or Business Administration degree
Sales-silver sales badge or Business Administration or Psychology degree
The Peacock
Host-silver sales badge or Business Administration or Psychology degree
Server-none
Chef-cooking experience of level 5 or higher
Musician-creativity experience of level 6 or higher or Music degree
The Blossom Salon
Cashier-silver register badge or Business Administration degree
Sales-silver sales badge or Business Administration or Psychology degree
Hair Stylist-silver cosmetology badge or Technical Theatre degree
Masseuse-none

Based on the results, it seems like there is a fair mix of professional level jobs, technical skill level jobs and even jobs that require no experience. I am forwarding the results of the study to the Educational Director so that he may make changes to the curriculm to prepare the next generation of citizens for work in the hood.

Financial Director Notes: New Director's Plan

2008-02-15T12:47:00.000-08:00

Since I am the new Financial Director for the interim, I have made updates and changes to the plan.

Local businesses and associated laws

Establish a program for New Small Business Owners:
Give new business owners $1000-$3000 credit towards purchase of a community lot.
Help business owners network with other small business owners in other hoods, perhaps the resurgance of the Small Business Conference.

Establish a plan for business certificates.
Business owners must purchase business certificates for a cost. The certificate must be displayed at all times due to random checks. A file will be kept in the administrative offices.

Implement taxes and welfare support

~~Establish a program for Mortgage Loans~~:
Borrower must provide at least 10% down paymentLoans must be paid off within 42 simdays (six simweeks) Payments will be daily.

~~Increase rental fees~~:
~~Increase rental fees on the Starr Grey Townhomes (two-2 unit townhomes on McIntosh) due to promixity to main strip.~~ No longer necessary

~~Change tax structure~~:
Instead of $750/simweek per residental lot, increase it to $750/simweek per family. Removes loophole where families in multi-family housing paid less in taxes than other residents.

Manage the local real estates and architectural planning of the hood

~~Decrease number of multi-family units from 10 to 4~~

~~Build mixed income housing area~~:

~~Renovate Pavilion~~

~~Build Celebration Park II~~

~~Revamp Celebration Park I~~

~~Combine Celebration Park I and II~~

~~Expand Modern Sculpture Park~~

~~Renovate The Core~~

Educational Director Note: After the Storm

2008-02-15T12:12:00.000-08:00

With the storm, I had to re-write my proposal for my term. Since I am not elected, the hood council wants an update from me every simweek.

Manages the school and curriculm.

Host graduation ceremony for graduates of the school.

Create curriculm to meet future needs of the hood.

Works as a liason with university administration

Host graduation ceremony for graduates of the university.

Community Director Note: After The Storm

2008-02-14T14:25:00.000-08:00

Here's an update to my plan and the changes made because of the storm:

Secure family values, uphold rights for children and elders

Encourage families to create wills by hosting a free class at The Centre, free donuts will bring a bigger crowd

~~Research health insurance policies for residents~~

Establish a play group system for children to meet thier neighbors

Ensure a family friendly and healthy community for current & future generations.

~~Encourage residents to compost instead of trash~~ (see report in paper)

~~Install more lights and benches at the parks~~

~~Obtain address signs for homes~~

Ensure adequate culture, local food produce, restaurants and bars, & social meeting places.

~~Look into selling travel certificates.~~ Decided the national travel agency can manage this until the hood is settled after the storm

~~Look into hosting charter tours.~~ Decided the national travel agency can manage this until the hood is settled after the storm

Host a child friendly event: Children's Festival with free lemonade and sweets and local entertainment and games and prizes. Location: Celebration Park or Modern Sculpture Park, cost for residents: free Canceled due to storm

Host a teen-friendly event.Musik Festival with concerts from local bands and maybe some international acts (contact Sergio Gitano of Harper's Cove, post notice on Career & Fame Board). Location: The Foundry Canceled due to storm

~~Add a trend section in the local paper. Will review resturaunts, bars, etc. Also help residents stay abreast of the local trends.~~

~~Allow local farmer's to reside on larger lots, thus produce more food.~~

~~Build a public pool and gym for residents to enjoy in the summer time~~

Look into hosting an awards ceremony

Ensure a quality education system for residents

~~Build a local school for the children of Apple Valley.~~

~~Host graduation ceremonies for graduates of the school and the university.~~ The Educational Director is in charge of this now.

~~Encourage more extracurricular activities for teens and children-start with debate team, chess club, and simscouting program~~ Postponed until more information about Spring 2008 Deal is revealed.

Archives/Technology Note: New Officer

2008-02-14T13:52:00.000-08:00

As the newArchives/Technology Officer I was charged to go over the plan and present it to the residents of Apple Valley.

Assist in the management of family tree information: Will update the family tree document monthly and upload the updates once a quarter. Possibility of adding DNA information or at least special cases (ie-green alien race, blue alien race, ozian race, etc)

Collect community & residents registry: Will start maintaining basic residents information online for current residents only. Information will include: names, preferences, badges, aspiration, zodiac signs, career & education, hobbies and group membership. Must upload an updated map of the hood. Also started looking for TS1 photos and will make a collection for families to have thier historical photographs.

Test and implement 3rd party technology: Currently culling CC folders of little use items. Also looking to compile and combine items and use more MAXIS meshes.

Perform back-ups of resident information: Backups are current

Serve as local reporter: Online paper could be jazzed up a bit. Also looking to create telecast news broadcasts locally and internationally.

Manage the local library: Library is much smaller (in fact my office is in the "library" which consists of a few bookshelves). New titles are arriving each day, however there is a lack of local authors.

Manage the Historical Society: With the new land mass, the history of Apple Valley needs to be researched. The Historical Society is looking at creating three seperate histories (1) TS1 times and the land (2) TS2 before the great storm (3) TS2 after the great storm.

Hood Council Note: Comprehensive Plan-Volume II - The Plan: Goals, Objectives, Policies & Implementation Recommendations

2008-02-04T13:54:00.000-08:00

Volume II - The Plan: Goals, Objectives, Policies & Implementation Recommendations (After the Storm)
Chapter 1 - Population and Demographics

Due to the decreasing population and aging of residents, recommend special iniatives for these demographics. Encourage families to have two children, encourage elders to pass on talents and knowledge to younger generation. It's estimated that in a span of fifteen simdays the population will have leveled off with an even number of births to deaths.

Chapter 2 - Land Use

Recommend publishing the construction criteria online for residents and other hoods to consult, especially with the hood now occupying a smaller landmass.

Chapter 3 - Transportation

Recommend building a dock to allow for better travel options bewteen hoods. The dock can also hold hotel rooms for visiting sims, small diner and shopping options. Ferries and sailboats currently transport sims to the nearby Pringit City for interesting nightlife and there is still a contract for travel to the various vacation locations.

Chapter 4 - Housing

Once residents are moved into thier homes on the island, focus will be on remodeling and permit criteria for renovation projects.

Chapter 5 - Economic Development

Due to isolation and long ferry rides, recomment that all residents work locally. To reach this goal, the hood council will invest in local and administrative businesses by offering incentives to businesses for hiring local employees, affordable business loans and encouraging residents to spend more by asking local stores to offer sales.

Chapter 6 - Natural & Agricultural Resources

Recommend encouraging farm to invest in greenhouses and more farm land to prepare excess produce for the winter season. Especially with landmass being limited, and food delivery is now much longer, local produce is of essence.

Chapter 7 - Parks & Open Space

With the limited landmass, the number of parks has decreased, however there is still plenty of green space and spectacular views of the surrounding ocean. However due to the rocky nature of the island, beach access is banned.

Chapter 8 - Historic & Cultural Resources

Recommend investing in historical and cultural aspects of the hood by hosting a seasonal celebration. Each season a celebration will be held to mark historic events in Apple Valley's history and to celebrate the unique blending of culture.

Chapter 9 - Community Facilities (Police, Fire, Community, School)

There is a need for a police station and fire station as it will take to long for SCPD and SCFD to respond to emergencies. The local Medical Centre is used for medical needs and the school is for all dependants under the age of young adult.

Chapter 10 - Utilities

Currently the community uses wind power and utilities from SC.

Chapter 11 - Intergovernmental Cooperation

Currently the hood is active in the SUN Core and has relationships with other
hoods.

Hood Council Note: Comprehensive Plan-Volume I - Background Information

2008-01-30T13:42:00.000-08:00

Volume I - Background Information
This report details the state of the hood before the storm.

Chapter 1 - Population and Demographics

The population was decreasing due to emmigration and low birthrates. The population is aging and there may not be enough of the younger generation to substain the hood in the future.

Chapter 2 - Land Use

Land was under very strict control. There are construction requirements and criteria for each street. McIntosh allows for up to three levels and is mostly commerical. Each residental streets have house value criteria and there are plenty of green spaces and parks.

Chapter 3 - Transportation

With the new BV deal, cars have been discouraged due to the small size of the neighborhood and easy walking distance to most places. Carpools and public taxis make transportation faster. There is an airport nearby, but residents must take a ferry to get there.

Chapter 4 - Housing

All sims have adequate housing. Even the lower valued homes are still great in terms of comfort. Mortgages allow for residents to obtain the home of thier dreams. There is little movement within the hood, most residents focus on improving thier home.

Chapter 5 - Economic Development

Unemployment is at record lows especially since Apple Valley gathers data on residents that manage thier own businesses (though technically unemployed, they gather income). Descretionary spending is low with most sims spending 50% or more of every simolean they make on household expenses and food.

Chapter 6 - Natural & Agricultural Resources

Currently there is one farm to provide food and fresh produce to the hood. Residents can buy food from other hoods, but must pay a delivery surcharge.

Chapter 7 - Parks & Open Space

Currently there are three parks to service residents: Celebration Park,
Children's Park and Botanical Gardens.

Chapter 8 - Historic & Cultural Resources

Currently no way to track or maintain historic or cultural resources in spite of Apple Valley's rich cultural history and long past.

Chapter 9 - Community Facilities (Police, Fire, Community, School)

Currently there is an unmanned police station (awaiting a police chief to occupy
the site) thus we must use SCPD. The hood uses SCFD for fire related emergencies
and the local Medical Centre for medical needs. There is a school for teenagers
as an alternative to SC's public school system. Currently there are a few
community lots for residents (The Pavilion and The Centre).

Chapter 10 - Utilities

Currently the community uses wind power and utilities from SC.

Chapter 11 - Intergovernmental Cooperation

Currently the hood is active in the SUN Core and has relationships with
other hoods.

Archives/Technology Note: Historical Society

2008-01-14T10:44:00.000-08:00

The Historical Society met concerning awarding Historical Preservation Awards. These little plaques can be mounted outside the local for all to see.

Eligibility for Historical Preservation Award:
This award will recognize the best work in protecting a threatened historic property in Apple Valley. The historic property may be a building, structure, object, site or district. Commendable community and individual efforts such as advocacy, fund raising, creation of a protective ordinance, physical stabilization, and repair will be recognized.

Historical Preservation Award Criteria:
Nominations will be evaluated by the following criteria:
-The degree to which projects have overcome a significant, tangible threat to the historic resource (the type and degree of the threat to the property should be identified)
-The degree to which the project has successfully protected a historic resource from harm
-The degree to which efforts have been made to ensure the future protection of the property through fund raising, covenants, reuse, and rehabilitation plans or other measures

Hood Council Note: Party Areas

2008-01-12T09:48:00.000-08:00

Residents are complaining about the lack of places to marry and throw parties in the hood. I propose that we install a wedding arch at the ballroom at The Centre and truly renovate that space to be a nice party facility. Currently the ballroom only occupies the second floor, but with the demolition of the courthouse, I believe we can turn the ballroom into a very nice amenity and many brides and grooms will love to visit the place and make it thier own. We can make it a two story venue, with the alter and wedding area downstairs (the layout can be moved into various ways-round, alter, etc) and the reception area upstairs (buffet tables, piano, DJ booth, tables and chairs, dance floor, cake & champagne table)

Hood Council Note: Budget

2008-01-04T10:00:00.000-08:00

Should we publish the budget? Time moves by so slowly here in the hood and we keep a budget for each simweek. I suppose publishing it won't hurt-it will help residents realize where the money is going and how much things cost. That would help residents be more trusting of the hood council and our desicions to better the hood.

Hood Council Note: Dyanamics of Hood

2008-01-04T09:50:00.000-08:00

The hood is changing, it's getting smaller as more sims decide not to return after college, emigrate to other hoods or simply leave. Also residents having fewer children. This change is not a bad thing as the hood wants to stabilize and focus on the charm of small town living. Many other residents have applied for emigration and are currently waiting on external things-like promotions, children reaching certain ages and such before they leave.

With the population decreasing, do we have a need for multi-family housing? There are still sims that desire the convenience of living on McIntosh and walking to work and entertainment areas-they don't want the traditional single family homes. But is multi-family living the way to go? Or should we encourage the building of single family townhomes. The Apple Valley Boarding House is still empty, there haven't been any boarders since it's existence and that lot is 3x2, perhaps it can be converted into a series of flats, but under what surname? Perhaps simply building a 2x2 home for downtown living is best and it can be rented-perfect for those just starting out. Except there are not too many sims just starting out (especially with the surname law). Most families are pretty well off and stable in their finances, there are only a few that have a lower income. Is our hood becoming elitist?

To counter-act the possibility of becoming elitist, I propose that we tear down the Apple Valley Boarding House and create a nice multi-sim living community. With 3-4 units, community gardens and direct access to the Celebration Park behind the lot, this multi-sim lot can be very beautiful and desired amoung younger sims returning from college, but not ready to move home yet due to circumstances. We'll have the surname be the name of the community (McIntosh Parque Place or simply Parque) for easy transmission of funds. We'll limit each unit to 2 sims each and limit the rental period to one season (6-7 simdays). Rental fees would cover garden maintaince and home maintaince. The rent would be low, less than $1000 each simweek (or $1000 the entire rental period).

The current townhome on McIntosh will be rebuilt into a single family townhome and then placed on the market for those sims desiring urban living, yet have more than 2 sims in thier family and desire to put thier roots down.

This would help out a few college graduates and sims that desire to stay in the hood, while their family desires to move elsewhere.

Archives/Technology Note: Historical Register

2007-12-26T10:45:00.000-08:00

The Historical Register will consider a location historic if:

The quality of significance in simmish history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture is present in districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects that possess integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association, and:

A. That are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of simmish history; or

B. That are associated with the lives of persons significant in simmish past; or

C. That embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or

D. That have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.

As a result, some families are interested in rebuilding thier ancestoral homes from TS1. I think that instead families and the hood should focus on maintaining the historical locales here already, such as Celebration Park.

Medical Note-Pharmacy Expansion

2007-12-22T10:56:00.000-08:00

The pharmacy is in need of expansion. Right now the gift shop is selling plenty of items and bringing in most of the profits. We're going to expand the product selection soon, however, the phamarcy needs to be expanded as well with more medicines and over-the-counter drugs.

Hood Council Note: Comp Plan?

2007-12-21T09:40:00.000-08:00

Should we create a compehensive plan? The Comprehensive Plan would be the blueprint for growth and development of the community. It would describe the long-term direction and vision for the hood. The Comprehensive Plan would contain the long-term goals for the hood, such as providing a safe and healthy environment for residents, supporting businesses to help create jobs, and preserving the high quality of life the residents of Apple Valley have come to expect.

I will present it to the hood council members.

Hood Council Note: Calendar & Holidays

2007-12-17T09:49:00.000-08:00

We had a need to establish a set holiday calendar-especially with the season's deal in place making keeping time much easier. We will have these holidays according to the time passed in the hood-international events-such as the Food Expo would be held concurrently with other hoods.

We go by season cycles and days, ie, Summer 1, Simday 3. These are the holidays the hood will observe:

Spring: Simday 3: Founder's Day
Celebrate the founding of Apple Valley by honoring the past founders of Apple Valley, Greymount. A day to celebrate the past by holding historical lectures, festivals and more.

Summer: Simday 3: Rememberance Day
Honor the residents of Apple Valley that lost thier lives in past crashes. The day will be marked with mourning and honoring the dead and those who have lost their lives to make ours better.

Fall: Simday 3: Blessed Harvest Day
Celebrate the harvest and family. Day will be marked with feasts and festivals.

Winter: Simday 4: Christmas
Celebrate the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ. Day will be marked with service projects, family gatherings and festivals.

Hood Council Note: Stock Market

2007-12-14T09:59:00.000-08:00

Should Apple Valley create a local stock market? That was the question posed to me. It would help business owners with limited funds, but there is a loan program for them-which reminds me, should we manage business loans the same way as mortgages (using Monique's bill payer system). That would help in terms of new deals which have a tendency to wipe out old accounts and loans.

I'll did a survey amoung small business owners and found out the following:

-there are 5 community businesses owned by residents
--The Toy Shoppe
--CupaJava
--Herendez Art Gallery
--Tati's
--The Farmer's Market
--Fresh Flora

-there are 2 municipal businesses owned by the hood
--The Centre
--The Medical Centre

-there is 1 homebased businesses
--Apple Valley Historical Church Gift Shop

The municipal and home-based businesses had no desire for shareholders. Of the community lot businesses, there was little desire for shareholders. Mostly the businesses operate with business loans.

--The Toy Shoppe-$0 loan
--CupaJava-$0 loan
--Herendez Art Gallery-$0 loan
--Tati's-$10,000 loan
--The Farmer's Market-$3000 loan
--Fresh Flora-$12,000 loan

Total: $25,000 in business loans

At this time do not recommend a stock market, instead a simple listing of businesses and thier customer service scores and rank would suffice. This is done with the Yellow Pages service from Simmerville.

Archives/Technology Note: Website

2007-11-28T10:44:00.000-08:00

Many residents have expressed confusion about the website and how often the website is updated and the difficulty in keeping up with updates. Not to mention the increased job duties of the Archives/Technology Officer (me).

As a result, the website will now be updated at least twice a month and at least one blog will be updated each day, however this will no longer be reflected be any special notation. Instead when the website is updated a list of blogs (by family) that have been updated will be listed.

This will be effective Dec 1, 2007

Hood Council Note: Publishing Hood Council Meetings

2007-11-27T09:40:00.000-08:00

The online hood council meetings are not going well-residents are not visiting the online forum and there isn't much incentive to maintain the forum. Instead we're going to publish the notes of the hood council meetings. This will be done on the website-not a blog type posting-but actual minutes of the meetings and concerns raised.

Hood Council Note: Farming Rights

2007-11-24T09:48:00.000-08:00

There's been a lot of discussion about farming rights and food produce for the hood, so I decided to do a formal report.

Number of households: 13 (not including house on BAP Campus-thier food source comes from national sources)

Current Number of Residential lots: 15

Number of ground plots needed to feed each lot: 5

Total number of ground plots needed: 75

Only one family has farm rights. These farm rights include:

Must develop/harvest a minimum of 22 ground plots, 3 fruit trees or any combination of the two to equal 25 (ie 20 ground plots/5 fruit trees; 10 ground plots, 15 fruit trees, etc).
Must develop at least one plot of each food: Tomatoes , Strawberries , Cucumbers , Pole Beans, Peppers , Eggplant.
Must have at least two fruit trees variety: Apple, Lemon, Orange
May reside on a 3x3 to a 4x3 lot
$300 incentive each season

Mendenhall Farm: 30 plots (5 plots of each variety) + 6 fruit trees (2 trees of each variety) + 3 bee hives that each produce 4 jars of honey simdaily (12 jars (6 servings each (72 meals total)) simdaily)+ small pond with healthy fish population.

There are no grocery stores and Smokey Jane's reduced it's selection of fine wines and cheeses that can be purchased-thus families pay an additional $50 delivery fee for processed food. This is an incentive for families to buy fresh local produce from the Farmer's Market. As long as prices are kept reasonable, the hood council will be able to support the farm and local produce.

Hood Council Note: Hood Employees

2007-11-15T10:01:00.000-08:00

The hood has several employees-most are paid according to a basic salary and fee, but others (like the pastor and teacher) are paid differently:

The Centre
Bank Teller (fair salary scaled based on skill/badges)
Newspaper Editor (fair salary scaled based on skill/badges)
Welcome Center Cashier/ Travel Guide (fair salary scaled based on skill/badges)

The Medical Centre
Medical Center Director (fair salary scaled based on skill/badges)
Nurse (fair salary scaled based on skill/badges)

AV Historical Church
Pastor (flat salary + benefits)

AV Secondary Academy
Principal/Administrator (flat salary + benefits)

The hood has numerous job openings-thinking about giving talks and assesment tests to the teenagers and university students to help them realize where they would fit into the hood's economy. Will talk to Rayne about this venture since it falls under her duties.

Hood Council Note: Musik Faire

2007-11-02T09:48:00.000-07:00

The Musik Festival has been approved. It will be the last day of summer, a nice event for the teens, at The Foundry. It will be in the evening of the Summer Festival and we're importing special snack kiosks for the event, as well as making sure there is ample room and restrooms.

Performers
Sam Jones, Mayfair Plaza: pending
Selena Farrell, Mayfair Plaza: pending
Sergio Gitano, Harper's Cove: confirmed
The Fighters, Palatial Heights: confirmed

Special Guests
Chad Vanderburg, MC: confirmed

There will be a re-release of Alisa Crawston's CDs and concert tees; and the sales of the other performers CDs and tees. Tickets will be on sale for $50 and VIP tickets will be on sale for ~$150 and will feature access to the VIP lounge, meet and greet with performers and a special souvenior backstage pass. The profits will go towards the purchase of new computers for the school.

Archives/Technology Note-Update

2007-10-29T10:43:00.000-07:00

Another update report:

Assist in the management of family tree information: Goal is to update the family tree document bi-monthly. Uploading this as we speak along with an updated map of the hood. Revamped the family tree to allow links bewteen each family and to allow the database to be smaller. This is taking more time than anticipated and will be uploaded later this year.

Collect community & residents registry: Template and tools are now online for other hood administrators to download. Trying to decide if we should collect skill and badge information since this is very dynamic.

Test and implement 3rd party technology: With the new deal working on implementing a "patch" to the hood's infrastructure. The testing folders are quite large as residents buy more items online and ask for it to be tested. Will look into limiting the amounts of items residents may purchase. Also, the folders are due for a cull-will do inventory of cc items and delete little used items by the end of the year.

Perform back-ups of resident information: Another backup was done right before the "patch" was implemented. Patch was implemented, still in testing to note any changes and ill-effects.

Serve as local reporter: on track.

Manage the local library: Still not so well. Plan on creating a reading incentive plan with the community director.

Hood Council Note: New Lot

2007-10-18T09:59:00.000-07:00

The Garden Association met with me today. They presented a proposal for a botonical garden. The garden would reside on a lot as small as 2x2 to as large as 3x3. In addition to the numerous flowers, plants and walking paths, there would be a greenhouse (with a space for weddings), stage for performances.

The club even had a mock-up design of the garden with a japenese garden, country cottage garden, space for the stage, and coffee shop.

They emphasized that this would not duplicate the purpose of Celebration Park in that the botanical gardens would be mostly educational, an area for beautiful weddings and special events such as concerts. Which Apple Valley does need.

I reviewed thier proposal and looked at some numbers. Also I have determined a suitable location for the site-and the site is now nearing final construction.

Hood Council Note: New Tasks?

2007-10-05T09:47:00.000-07:00

With the new deal, we're supposed to discuss how to manage the new task of overseeing the increased travel and vacation destinations. Since I'm in charge of culture, it falls to me :(

Thankfully there isn't much. So here's an update to my plan:

Secure family values, uphold rights for children and elders

Encourage families to create wills by hosting a free class at The Centre, free donuts will bring a bigger crowd

~~Research health insurance policies for residents~~

Establish a play group system for children to meet thier neighbors

Ensure a family friendly and healthy community for current & future generations.

Encourage residents to compost instead of trash (see report in paper)

~~Install more lights and benches at the parks~~

Obtain address signs for homes

Ensure adequate culture, local food produce, restaurants and bars, & social meeting places.

Look into selling travel certificates

Look into hosting charter tours

Host a child friendly event: Children's Festival with free lemonade and sweets and local entertainment and games and prizes. Location: Celebration Park or Modern Sculpture Park, cost for residents: free

Host a teen-friendly event.Musik Festival with concerts from local bands and maybe some international acts (contact Sergio Gitano of Harper's Cove, post notice on Career & Fame Board). Location: The Foundry

~~Add a trend section in the local paper. Will review resturaunts, bars, etc. Also help residents stay abreast of the local trends.~~

~~Allow local farmer's to reside on larger lots, thus produce more food.~~

~~Build a public pool and gym for residents to enjoy in the summer time~~

Ensure a quality education system for residents

~~Build a local school for the children of Apple Valley.~~

Host graduation ceremonies for graduates of the school and the university

~~Encourage more extracurricular activities for teens and children-start with debate team, chess club, and simscouting program~~ Postponed until more information about Spring 2008 Deal is revealed.

Education Director Notes: Education Plan

2007-09-30T11:34:00.000-07:00

The hood council wants me to create a report of my goals for the students and school.

Chose school colors and mascot
We need to chose 2-3 school colors and a mascot, apples are not very intimidating. Something to build school pride.

Chose an extracurricular for students
Should have at least one school sponsered extracurricular that students would enjoy and participate in. Sports teams are hard to do unless we travel to compete, maybe a club of some sort.

Students learn average of one skill a day
Should students focus on specializing and learning particular skills (ie level 8 or higher on skills test in 1 or 2 skills) or leave school with broad knowledge (ie leve 3 and higher on skills tests in 5 or more skills)

Medical Centre Note-Health Insurance

2007-09-30T10:56:00.000-07:00

I report to the Community Director and one of her objectives is to research health insurance options. Thus this assignment falls to me. I've looked at other hoods to see how thier health insurance works and if health insurance is a neccessary part of Apple Valley life.

The fundamental concept of insurance is that it balances costs across a large, random sample of sims. Apple Valley is a small sample of sims and in addition, medical costs are low in the hood and sims do not utilize the medical centre as often except for prescriptions. Also, there has not been a need for expensive procedures such as surgeries and intensive testing.

Current Medical Fees
Broken Limb $1,500 (0)
IVF Treatment $5,000 (1)
Induced Labor $2,500 (1)
Consulation with Doctor $100 (0)
Plastic Surgery/per part $3,000 (0)
Prescription Medicine $450 (4)
to be added
Rehabilitation Services/per simday $500 (0)
Midwifery Services (including pre-natal care, delivery, 1st check-up) $1000 (0)

There are numerous health care options, I would recommend a non-profit hood funded/managed healthcare system. This can be accomplished by having an additional tax for each household (say about $50-$100/simweek). This would currently provide about $900-$1800 a simweek for the healthcare bank. This money can be used to reduce the cost of services for residents that use it during the simweek. However, this would require more thought and planning.

Due to the lack of need for a health insurance and amount of difficulty in creating such a program, I recommend that the topic be shelved until next simweek to see if any changes have been noted in the hood and the health of the residents. Until then, residents can use the options currently available to them (installment plans, welfare assistance application, healthy living).

Hood Council Note: Financial Director Update

2007-09-25T09:58:00.000-07:00

Update on Plans-need to start thinking about new set of plans now that the new deal is signed.

Local businesses and associated laws

Establish a program for New Small Business Owners:
Give new business owners $1000-$3000 credit towards purchase of a community lot.
Help business owners network with other small business owners in other hoods, perhaps the resurgance of the Small Business Conference.

Implement taxes and welfare support

~~Establish a program for Mortgage Loans~~:
Borrower must provide at least 10% down paymentLoans must be paid off within 42 simdays (six simweeks) Payments will be daily.

~~Increase rental fees~~:
Increase rental fees on the Starr Grey Townhomes (two-2 unit townhomes on McIntosh) due to promixity to main strip.

~~Change tax structure~~:
Instead of $750/simweek per residental lot, increase it to $750/simweek per family. Removes loophole where families in multi-family housing paid less in taxes than other residents.

Manage the local real estates and architectural planning of the hood

~~Decrease number of multi-family units from 10 to 4~~

~~Build mixed income housing area~~:

~~Renovate Pavilion~~

~~Build Celebration Park II~~

~~Revamp Celebration Park I~~

~~Combine Celebration Park I and II~~

~~Expand Modern Sculpture Park~~

~~Renovate The Core~~

Archives/Technology Notes: Update Report

2007-09-20T10:43:00.000-07:00

Another update report:

Assist in the management of family tree information: Goal is to update the family tree document bi-monthly. Missed August's deadline-next update is September, along with updated map of the hood.

Collect community & residents registry: Will offer template to other hoods by request.

Test and implement 3rd party technology: Going well, technology is held in testing folder and changes are noted due to the usage-however the folders are getting quite large as residents buy more items online and ask for it to be tested. SOLVED-recent apprearences of menu-options on fridges for "management/make single plates/bank controllor" or "management/make single plates/colonial window" due to the massive imports of new food items from TSR2. All new recipes taken out and will slowly be reintroduced to find the culprit-might be a conflict bewteen the foods and Monique's computer system the hood uses.

Perform back-ups of resident information: With the new deal -another backup was done right before the hood council signed it.

Serve as local reporter: online paper is published each simday, new section of paper added with reviews of local establishments.

Manage the local library: Still not so well, residents don't utilize the library, perhaps creating special events? Incentives for reading?

Hood Council Note: Mortgages II

2007-09-11T09:57:00.000-07:00

After much complaint, the mortgage system has been altered.

After investigating the options and noting current technology Apple Valley will use the following system for mortgages.

Residents will use the Monique Payer/Payee Bills/Book for mortgages.

Mortgages will have a daily payment and must be paid within 42 simdays.

Families must have a minimum of 10% downpayment for thier home.

Current interest rate for all loans is 5%

The total amount of the mortgage will be calculated as:
( Amount of house - downpayment ) * (1 + interest rate)
(§20,000-§2,000)*1.05=§22,500 mortgage

The daily payment is calculated as:
mortgage amount/42 (rounded to nearest §10)
§22,500/42=§540 daily payment

The mortgage amount, interest rate and number of days remaining for the mortgage will be noted in each household's "bio" screen and maintained by the Financial Director.

All families that have mortgages less than five simdays old, their mortgages will automatically be recalculated using the new system.

Families are encouraged to meet with the Financial Director at the bank in order to discuss affordability based on daily salary and current debts.

Hood Council Note: Community Director Report

2007-09-10T09:47:00.000-07:00

Update on my progress this term:

Secure family values, uphold rights for children and elders

Encourage families to create wills by hosting a free class at The Centre, free donuts will bring a bigger crowd

~~Research health insurance policies for residents~~

Establish a play group system for children to meet thier neighbors

Ensure a family friendly and healthy community for current & future generations.

Encourage residents to compost instead of trash

~~Install more lights and benches at the parks~~

Obtain address signs for homes

Ensure adequate culture, local food produce, restaurants and bars, & social meeting places.

Host a child friendly event: Children's Festival with free lemonade and sweets and local entertainment and games and prizes. Location: Celebration Park or Modern Sculpture Park, cost for residents: free

Host a teen-friendly event. (What's cool now?): Musik Festival with concerts from local bands (contact Selita Grey) and maybe some international acts (contact Sergio Gitano of Harper's Cove, post notice on Career & Fame Board). Location: The Foundry

~~Add a trend section in the local paper. Will review resturaunts, bars, etc. Also help residents stay abreast of the local trends.~~

~~Allow local farmer's to reside on larger lots, thus produce more food.~~

~~Build a public pool and gym for residents to enjoy in the summer time~~

Ensure a quality education system for residents

~~Build a local school for the children of Apple Valley.~~

Host graduation ceremonies for graduates of the school and the university

Encourage more extracurricular activities for teens and children-start with debate team, chess club, and simscouting program

Hood Council Note: Hood President Report

2007-09-10T09:39:00.000-07:00

Update on my progress this term-I must say, things are going rather well.

Construct a Bank

~~Add bank office at The Centre.~~

Re-Establish fines/community service for conflicts

~~Construction of jail~~ .

Find Jailor: Interiem jailor will be Jarvis Forrester-Miller.

Update Fines

Create a process for punishing residents and townies.

~~Renovate The Centre to add a courthouse~~.

Increase tourism

Order additional custom objects: ~~maps, cups, postcards~~, poster prints, trinkets, etc. ~~Also get map created of the hood to hang in the Welcome Center instead of the TV~~.

~~Keep online Office of Tourism updated with flights and events.~~

~~Hold raffle for a free trip to Apple Valley. Including airfare, accomadations, food, and spending money. ($5000)~~

Create a Apple Valley Flag

Change timetable

~~Follow Baleen Island's way of keeping time: instead of simdays, use Season # Simday #~~

Further relationship with affliates

Email/chat with spokessims from affliate hoods more often

Travel to affliate hoods

Hood Council Note: New Deal

2007-08-24T09:38:00.000-07:00

Apple Valley will sign the new deal allowing access to popular vacation locales. As a result, the hood council has voted not to resume rotation until after the new deal is finalized. We're at a great point-simMonday-to resume a new deal. We're expecting a great deal of residents to take advantage of the new deal and plan vacations for thier family. We don't know as much about the vaction homes option, but we're exploring levying a tax on such luxury items.

Medical Centre Note-Lectures

2007-08-14T10:54:00.000-07:00

To get more patrons out to the clinic and learning about thier health, I started a series of health classes at the clinic. The classes are held outside, so passerbys would be interested to stop by. The lectures are every simMonday, simWednesday and simFriday at 3pm (about three lectures a season). There is wheat cake and herbal tea for refreshments and Q&A as well.

Lectures Schedule:
Keeping Cool this Summer (Summer 1, Day 1) -Ellsworth Dawson

Exercise and Health (Summer 1, Day 3)-Jan Dawson

Basic First Aid (Summer 1, Day 5)

Preparing for Cold & Flu Season (Fall 1, Day 2)
Safe Babysitting Practices (Fall 1, Day 5)

Pastoral Notes: 1st Service

2007-08-06T10:40:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it, we finally had our first church service. A few sims showed up and there as a very generous offering. Thanks to the offering and the fundraisers from the Food Expo, we were able to do some remodeling of the church. I now have an office to counsel and the gift shop is larger. Nicole found some nice bibles to sell in the store during the weekdays and after services. Now I must start work on the second sermon!

Medical Centre Note: Stone Veins

2007-08-01T10:55:00.000-07:00

There is a case of stone veins in the hood. The first case I ever saw, but after looking back through the records, there may have been another case, but simply undiagnosed. From my research:

Stone Veins

What is Stone Veins?

What are the sign and symptoms of Stone Veins?

How is Stone Veins diagnosed and evaluated?

What is the treatment for Stone Veins?

What is Stone Veins?
Stone Veins is a rare terminal blood disorder that affects less than 1% of the sim population. The condition develops when the arteries that supply blood to the internal organs, arms, and legs become completely or partially blocked by the tightening and imflammation of the blood vessels. Stone Veins has a strong hereditary tendency, although the exact cause is unknown.

What are the sign and symptoms of Stone Veins?
The inflammation of the arteries can lead to poor blood supply to tissues of the body in patients with Stone Veins. This can cause painful, cool or blanched extremities, dizziness, headaches, chest pain, and abdominal pain. Other early symptoms can include fatigue, weight loss, and low-grade fever.

How is Stone Veins diagnosed and evaluated?
During a physical examination, the doctor will look for signs that are indicative of periphStone Veins, including weak or absent artery pulses in the extremities, specific sounds that can be heard over the arteries with a stethoscope, changes in blood pressure in the limbs, and skin color and nail changes due to tissue ischemia. In addition to the history of symptoms and the physical signs of Stone Veins described above, doctors can use imaging tests and blood tests in the diagnosis of the disease.

What is the treatment for Stone Veins?
If Stone Veins detected early enough, it can be treated by suppressing the inflammation with medication. However, most patients do not improve, and stronger medications which suppress the immune system and relieve pain are used until the patient's demise.

Hood Council Note: Networking

2007-07-31T09:38:00.000-07:00

I've been networking with residents of the hood, basically having espresso, chatting with them in the park or in stores. Anything to see how the pulse of the hood is going. Making sure that all concerns are being voiced and met. We have re-established the online forum for hood council meetings. It was a good place to sort out ideas and residents could submit thier concerns without fear. My goals are going along nicely, we have a nice surplus in the budget which means we can afford to be aggressive with our plans.

Hood Council Note: Mortgages

2007-07-26T09:56:00.000-07:00

A Mortgage system has been approved. After investigating the options and noting current technology Apple Valley will use the following system for mortgages.

Residents will use the Monique Payer/Payee Bills/Book for mortgages. Mortgages will have a daily payment and must be paid within 21 simdays. Families must have a minimum of 10% downpayment for thier home.

The total amount of the mortgage will be calculated as: ( Amount of house - downpayment ) * (1 + interest rate). The daily payment is calculated as: mortgage amount/# simdays. The mortgage amount, interest rate and number of days remaining for the mortgage will be noted in each household's "bio" screen and maintained by the Financial Director.

Families are encouraged to meet with the Financial Director at the bank in order to discuss affordability based on daily salary and current debts. Interest rates are based on your financial history and ability to pay.

Medical Centre Note-List of Services

2007-07-20T10:53:00.000-07:00

Decided to make a list of the services available from the Medical Centre in addition to primary care and diagnosis:

Inpatient Care
Plastic Surgery: includes pre-surgery consultation to determine what the patient desires and how to accomplish this, the surgery and one day of inpatient admittance to monitor the patient's health.
Childbirth: includes pre-natal visits and check-ups, deliver either in hospital or at home, and first healthy baby check-up.

Out-Patient Care
Setting of Broken Limbs
Weight Loss Assistance: consultation with doctor to determine a healthy plan to lose weight with regular check-ups to monitor progress.
Physical Rehabilitation: consultation with doctor to determine a healthy plan to gain use of limbs again with regular check-ups to monitor progress.

Pastoral Notes: A Season for Planting

2007-07-18T10:40:00.000-07:00

and a season for harvest. Not only in the natural world are there seasons for harvesting crops and planting crops, but spiritually as well. I am continually reminded about my flock, the residents of the hood and how like the plants in my garden I am to nuture them, prune them at times, toss fertilizer on them and water them. God will cause the growth and then they will be ripe and ready for harvest. I have been praying about the spiritual state of the hood, residents seems to coast through life as if there is no God, that life is simply a state of wake up-work-eat-sleep. As if they are robots. I hope to get through to them that they are more than that-life can have purpose and meaning, but...well I struggle with how. Thank God for my lovely wife, Nicole. She thinks of the best ideas to spread the message around the hood, be it lectures, opening our home for dinners or what have you. She is truly my helpmate, I don't know what I would do without her in my life.

Hood Council Note: Population

2007-07-16T09:37:00.000-07:00

The population is decreasing. It's nothing to be concerned over especially since Apple Valley totes a philosphy of quality over quanity. SimMonday started with 81 sims, we end this term (simSaturday) with 66 sims. The decrease of growth has come mostly from death: many sims were elders on thier last leg (accounting for 33% of the loss), there was a tragic accident (20%), and a suspicious death; then there were several families/sims that emmigrated to other hoods including Simmington Hills, Harper's Cove and Riverdale. Couple that with the low birth rate. Though I do think Apple Valley will approach another plateau soon.

Medical Centre Note-Pharmacy

2007-07-15T10:45:00.001-07:00

Too many sims are trying to buy prescription drugs in bulk. This means that we keep large amounts of drugs in inventory, which isn't good. From now on, I will have to personally give each sim the appropiate prescription and only sell over the counter drugs at the pharmacy.

Right now there are three prescription drugs with regionally imposed expiration dates-so they must be taken within two simdays of purchase, so it's not good to save for future usage. :

-A pill (available by prescription only from Katy76) that cures the common cold, flu or pnemionia pretty quickly. I will now only prescribe the drug in cases of pneumonia, flus and colds that have been longer than two simdays and virus. The sufferers from the common cold can buy OTC drugs, drink lots of orange juice and rest.

-A pill (available by prescription only from Katy76) that aids in weight loss. Will only be prescribed in extreme cases after a battery of tests measuring fat percentage, family history, and pysche evaluation. Otherwise, sims can consult with me and we'll create a fitness and health plan that includes dieting and exercise to lose weight.

-A pill (available by prescription only from Katy76) that aids in insomnia.

Archives/Technology Notes

2007-07-15T10:41:00.000-07:00

Apparently I must submit regular reports to the hood council on my tasks and progress.

Assist in the management of family tree information: the family tree will be updated in August. Goal is to update the family tree document monthly.

Collect community & residents registry: going well, the file is rather large, perhaps we can offer the template to other hoods to manage thier resident data.

Test and implement 3rd party technology: Going well, technology is held in testing folder and changes are noted due to the usage. Currently investigating recent apprearences of menu-options on fridges for "management/make single plates/bank controllor" or "management/make single plates/colonial window"

Perform back-ups of resident information: Going well, perform back-up of data each simday

Serve as local reporter: going well, online paper is to be published each simday, new section of paper to be added with reviews of local establishments.

Manage the local library: not so well, Community Director wants a children's reading hour established, need to encourage more residents to utilize the library.

Hood Council Note: Bank

2007-07-12T09:56:00.000-07:00

Finally, the bank is complete...well, at least the construction is. There's the main lobby, ATM, and a small cubicle/office to meetings regarding financial discussions (college funding, mortgages, etc). In the lobby residents can also pick up bill payment invoices and books to keep track of regular payments, such as taxes, tithes, etc. Checkbooks and investment silver and gold will also be sold.

The bank offers these services:

Savings/Checking Accounts

Checkbooks (available for small fee, can send a check to sims in the neighborhood)

Mortgages***

Loans***

Credit Cards***

ATMs and Online Banking

Automatic Payments

***more information later***

We will open the doors soon, but we need to find a banker to manage it. I suppose I could do it, but...I'm not sure if I'm ready to leave my job yet.

Hood Council Note: Phase One School Curriculm Proposal

2007-07-12T09:46:00.000-07:00

Curriculm
Classes will be held simMonday-simFriday, 9am-3pm.
Teens: Level 3, simyears 14-18 (pupil count 4)
Teens: Level 4, simyears 18-22 (pupil count 0)
*Teens: Level 5, simyears 23-28 (pupil count 0)
9am-11pm: Morning Period
11am-1pm: Lunch/Break
1pm-3pm: Afternoon Period

Level 3 Class Schedule (AM/PM)
simMonday:Golf Clinic III/Science III
simTuesday: Art III/Shop Class III
simWednesday: Science III/Physical Education III
simThursday: Golf Clinic III /Shop Class III
simFriday: Art III/Physical Education III

Level 4 Class Schedule (AM/PM)
simMonday: Science VI/History IV
simTuesday: Physical Education VI /English VI
simWednesday: Home Ecomonics VI/Science VI
simThursday: English VI/Physical Education VI
simFriday: History IV/Home Ecomonics VI

*Level 4 Class Schedule
Optional for teens opting not to attend university.
Encourage teens will join a trainee program with a local business.
Teens can also take classes of thier choice.

Class Descriptions
-Science III (cleaning): students will learn how to find lurking bacteria
-Shop Class III (mechanical): students will learn how to craft small electronics
-Physical Education III (body): students will learn healthy habits through kick boxing
-Art III (creativity): students will learn the basics of cubism
-Golf Clinic III (charisma): students will learn how to play the game of golf
-Science VI (logic): students will study microbiology
-Home Ecomonics VI (cooking): students will study spaghetti techniques
-Physical Education VI (body): students will learn healthy habits through yoga
-English VI (charisma): students will learn how to effectively give speeches
-History IV (creativity): students will learn how to write historical research papers'

Extracurriculars (TBD): chess club, debate team, sports team, theater, yearbook, etc

Hood Council Note: Food Expo

2007-06-27T09:36:00.000-07:00

The kickoff ceremony for the Food Expo has begun! I gave a speech and introduced some key players. Thankfully, the Food Expo is pretty standard in Apple Valley, we've been participating for so long that things run like clockwork. I've been trying to encourage other hoods to participate in the Food Expo as well, who knows, maybe we'll have the honor of hosting the Expo again someday...we'll see.

Hood Council Note: Proposal for School: Phase One

2007-06-25T09:45:00.000-07:00

Purpose
There is a need for the hood council to build a local school instead of bussing off the children and teens to other public schools where parents and the council can not monitor thier curriculm and education closely. This effort would take a considerable investment, but it would provide more jobs for residents and give us more control over the curriculm and education our children recieve.

State of the Hood's Education System
Currently the hood counts 9 teens and 10 children that are bussed off to nearby schools. It would take about two simdays to establish the Apple Valley school so that it can open on simMonday (if construction starts this simSaturday). By this time the pupil count would be 16 pupils. If we look at the number of students currently enrolled in private school: 5 teens and 2 children, that would ease the load of pupils for the school. Then that would leave 12 students to start the school.

Phase One
It will be best to slowly intergrate the students into the school and start with high school students and then add elementary students in Phase Two. With the increased requirements for university, the high school students are in danger of not being prepared for thier future. That would give the school 4 students to start with, also would only require 1 teacher. With this in mind:

Potential Jobs
1 Secondary School Teacher
-suggest teacher moves into an apartment on school grounds. If not possible, then at least the caretaker must move into the school.

1 Principal
-suggest that the Community Director holds this position to oversee the curriculm, will not increase duties of the CD too much, also will not cost the hood extra money to pay the principal.

1 Part-Time Cafeteria Worker or Delivered Pre-cooked Meals
-suggest delivered meals to save on cost. Can try to work a contract with Tati's

1 Part-Time Caretaker
-suggest either teacher does this afterschool or hire a worker to come in during afterschool hours to clean. Local maid service will be disruptive to classroom environment.

Classes/Grade Levels
Classes will be held simMonday-simFriday, 9am-3pm.
Will submit a more detailed curriculm proposal if the school proposal is approved.
Teens: Level 3, simyears 14-18 (pupil count 4)
Teens: Level 4, simyears 18-22 (pupil count 0)

Curriculm
Nationally Approved Curriculm/Subjects: use basic gradebooks
Extracurriculars: chess club, debate team, sports team, theater, yearbook, etc
Skill Building Classes: art, physical education, home ec, music class, shop class, etc

Investment
School Building
-believe this will be about $50,000 for the initial construction. Then another $30,000 for furnishing the school with neccessary equiptment.

Salary for Teacher
-can be a flat salary (suggest $1000/simweek) subsidized by the fact the teacher lives on campus and has room and board

Maintanience of School Building
-cleaning, repair work, landscaping, school supplies

Total Initial Investment=$90,000

We can qualify for the New School Education Grant ($35,000) and the Small School Iniative Grant ($40,000) which would require the hood to provide $15,000 towards the cost of the school, which is well within the budget.

Hood Council Note:My Plans for the Term

2007-06-22T09:44:00.000-07:00

My plans for the term as Community Director:

Secure family values, uphold rights for children and elders

Encourage families to create wills by hosting a free class at The Centre, free donuts will bring a bigger crowd
Research health insurance policies for residents
Establish a play group system for children to meet thier neighbors

Ensure a family friendly and healthy community for current & future generations.

Encourage residents to compost instead of trash
Install more lights and benches at the parks
Obtain address signs for homes

Ensure adequate culture, local food produce, restaurants and bars, & social meeting places.

Host a child friendly event: Children's Festival with free lemonade and sweets and local entertainment and games and prizes. Location: Celebration Park or Modern Sculpture Park, cost for residents: free
Host a teen-friendly event. (What's cool now?): Musik Festival with concerts from local bands (contact Selita Grey) and maybe some international acts (contact Sergio Gitano of Harper's Cove, post notice on Career & Fame Board). Location: The Foundry
Add a trend section in the local paper. Will review resturaunts, bars, etc. Also help residents stay abreast of the local trends.
Allow local farmer's to reside on larger lots, thus produce more food.
Build a public pool and gym for residents to enjoy in the summer time

Ensure a quality education system for residents

Build a local school for the children of Apple Valley.
Host graduation ceremonies for graduates of the school and the university
Encourage more extracurricular activities for teens and children-start with debate team, chess club, and simscouting program

Hood Council Note: Future Plans

2007-06-22T09:35:00.000-07:00

With the new term, here are my plans as the President

Construct a Bank
Add bank office at The Centre. Possible on bottom floor of the ballroom and decrease ballroom size to upper floor only. Bank would have ATM capabilities, office space for Financial Director to assist with loans and savings accounts. Financial Director will oversee this renovation and implementation.

Re-Establish fines/community service for conflicts

Construction on jail due to be complete on simMonday. Will have three cells, recreation room and cafeteria, outdoor exercise space and jailor's apartment with two bedrooms.
Jailor will be Jarvis Forrester-Miller, due to possession of aging wavier and position on the force. No salary will be given except a small stipend when inmates are housed.
Fine list needs updating as well as a process for punishing residents and townies.
Renovation of The Centre to include a courthouse for conflicts and office space to process data. Can reduce size of library so that it resides in the upstairs office space, renovate lower space to have the courtroom for trials and administrative offices.
Judge will be Hood Council President or the sim that holds that position downtown. If jurors are needed, a random selection of adults from the hood will be chosen to serve for the trial.

Increase tourism

Order additional custom objects: maps, poster prints, trinkets, etc. Also get map created of the hood to hang in the Welcome Center instead of the TV.
Keep online Office of Tourism updated with flights and events.
Hold raffle for a free trip to Apple Valley. Including airfare, accomadations, food, and spending money. ($5000)
Create a Apple Valley Flag

Change timetable

Follow Baleen Island's way of keeping time: instead of simdays, use Season # Simday #

Further relationship with affliates

Email/chat with spokessims from affliate hoods more often
Travel to affliate hoods

Hood Council Note: I'm the Financial Director

2007-06-18T09:55:00.000-07:00

Since I have an anti-aging wavier, I now have the lifetime (or as soon as my wavier expires or I chose not to) position of Financial Director.

This term I plan to:

Local businesses and associated laws
Establish a program for New Small Business Owners:
Give new business owners $1000-$3000 credit towards purchase of a community lot.
Help business owners network with other small business owners in other hoods, perhaps the resurgance of the Small Business Conference.

Implement taxes and welfare support
Establish a program for Mortgage Loans:
Borrower must provide at least 10% down payment
Loans must be paid off within 21 simdays (three simweeks)
Payments will be twice a week (simTuesday and simThursday)

Increase rental fees:
Increase rental fees on the Starr Grey Townhomes (two-2 unit townhomes on McIntosh) due to promixity to main strip.

Change tax structure
Instead of $750/simweek per residental lot, increase it to $750/simweek per family. Removes loophole where families in multi-family housing paid less in taxes than other residents.

Manage the local real estates and architectural planning of the hood
Decrease number of multi-family units from 10 to 4:
Condemn and bulldoze the Fuji Flats (three two unit multi-family units)
One lot is ready for demolition, give other families 3 simdays (until simMonday) and $1000 for inconvience to find new housing (total $4,000)
Would decrease rental income for the hood, however would promote home ownership
Still maintain the Starr Grey Townhomes (two-2 unit townhomes on McIntosh) and AVBH (4 rooms available for rent)

Build mixed income housing area:
Build three small lot homes on Fuji Court. At least two homes must be at least two bedroom and one bath, less than $15,000, other must be bewteen $15,000 and $30,000. At least two homes one story, one home two story.

Renovate Pavilion
Renovate skating rink so more sims can enter rink to skate.

Build Celebration Park II
Small grill area, playground, bathroom on 2x3 lot

Revamp Celebration Park I
Demolish grill and playground area to create more open space. Add chess set, focus more on the lake and fishing activities

Expand Modern Sculpture Park
Demolish small 1x3 lot and build on larger 2x3 lot
Buy Euphoria from Tatiana Garris, use additional land space for the new park
Will increase value of new homes on Fuji Court

Renovate The Core
The Core is too bulky and hinders views of main street (McIntosh)
Demolish 2nd level.
Create 5-9x8 office spaces for the following retailors: The Green Paw Pet Shop; Gears & Beyond; Snips; Wearable Art; I-Scream Icecream & Pizza
Retailors are paying for renovation-no funding needed from hood council, only approval on final design.

Hood Council Note: Last Update

2007-05-25T09:52:00.000-07:00

Ayanna called and starting asking me some tough questions about the status of my goals on the hood council. This is not whatI needed, especially with managing the Farmer's Market and preparing for the Food Expo and the interruption with the whole Season's chaos. I'm not as young as I used to be. Thankfully my term is almost complete and I don't plan on running again. I want to enjoy my elderhood.

Establish a Family Day for residents to go outside the home/at home entertainment: Not accomplished-will promote families to use simSaturday for this day. Should a fine be instated for defiance of this?

Increase number of parties thrown: not accomplished-most families celebrate with cake inviting only immediate family members. Perhaps give out best party awards. Best party of the simweek?

Build a university house: Done, however the house functions as a dorm to house ten students: five males/females in two double rooms and one single room (for the RA) per sex.

Reduce discrimination amoung elders: not started. most elders are content with jobs in the city, did set up a automatic pension plan for OFB elder employees.

Encourage groups to meet regularly and correct current group lists: not done, with the Seasons chaos this is better to be put off for next term.

For the next term recommend delegating tasks to other sims as such:

Community Director Tasks: Secure family values, uphold rights for children and elders, ensure a family friendly and healthy community for current and future generations. Ensure a quality education system for residents. Ensure adequate culture, local food produce, restaurants and bars, and social meeting places.

Medical Director Tasks:Perform research about medical issues of sims, ensure the quality of living in the hood via environmental testing for viruses, educating residents on healthy habits and staying abreast of the latest medical advancements.

Archives and Technology Director Tasks:Assist in the management of family tree information, collect community & residents registry, manage the local library. Manage the website.Test and implement 3rd party technology and perform back-ups of resident information.

I also suggest that we give those sims a small stipend for thier duties, however they would not have voting rights on the Hood Council, but would merely serve as directors of hood related tasks. This gives more residents responsibility for hood matters and spreads the burden off the hood council members who are not paid as full-time employees and must manage other duties and jobs.

Hood Council Note: Hood Council Report

2007-05-22T09:53:00.000-07:00

The new term will begin soon and Ayanna asked us all to submit a council report of our tasks and recommendations.

My goals for the term:

Build upon the current business laws: done, a very intensive law has been drafted and approved

Revisit taxes and find an easy system to deduct taxes and fees: done, taxes are now taken every simMonday. Residents must obtain thier payment invoices by this simFriday and set-up the payments to the hood council. This makes the payments automatic, need to determine where the payments will go.

Establish a program for Small Business Loans: not done

Build a Community Memorial Gardens: done and successful

Revamp Celebration Park: done, but a bit crowded with the new features, may have to build a second park

Recommendations:

Might need to divide tasks a bit more. It is difficult to manage the real estate of the hood, especially things like parks, however do not see a clear way to divide the tasks as of yet, except to have more resident input or maybe hire a part-time consultant to control the real estate issues of the hood since this isn't a full time issue.

Financial Director Tasks: Oversee hood finances, implement taxes and welfare support. Coordinate local trades and import based on needs of the community, oversee local businesses and associated laws, collect taxes and fees from residents.

Real Estate Consultant Tasks:Manage community lots, construction of new homes and destruction of homes. Manage the local real estates and architectural planning of the hood, including any community lots, general beautifying and landscape community gardens, recreation areas and health of animals and native plants.

Hood Council Note: Hood Council Report

2007-05-22T09:03:00.000-07:00

Things have been flying in my mind regarding the hood council and the administration of the hood. Should we elect the council members for life terms? or remain with the two simweek term? Should we try to have more residents manage hood businesses like the medical center and The Centre which is home to the hood council offices and gift shop. We're looking into creating customized Apple Valley paraphernalia like cups and t-shirts and maybe some photo prints. I need to sit down and focus on the hood a bit more, it's hard to focus on it when I have another job as well. Perhaps we can look into making the hood council members full time employees and increasing thier salaries as such...or at least the hood president should become a full time employee. Hmmm, so much to think about.

With the new term approaching I need to complie a report of the hood council's tasks and achievements.

The status of my goals this term:

Host a family for the SUN Exchange for one simweek: looking for a family to host, sent one family to Palatial Heights, budgeted for a family to come to Apple Valley and have a family signed up for the SUN Exchange.

Participate in all SUN Activities: done-Food Expo starts this June, budget for the event is set and business owners have applied for grants, signed up a family for the SUN Exchange

Re-Establish fines/community service for conflicts: not done, looking at the need to establish a jail or simply impose fines. Might need to start charging fines for damage to trash cans, stealing of newspapers and other minor events. At the moment, no distrubrances noted.

Increase local military by building military base and offering military scholarships to university students in exchange for service: not done, military career is full, no need for additional sims, however with the two military sims approaching elderhood, this scholarship may need to be offered during the next term. Must need to stay prepared.

Recommendations for next hood council term:

Finding a Security Officer to train local troup for secret commands, maintain international security including the transport of deadly viruses via object deliveries. Prevent criminality, solve local conflicts, manage domestic security. Also, would oversee the jail if one is ever built.

The Hood President would focus on the following tasks: Coordinating the Hood Council's work, being the voice and face of Apple Valley, coordinate hood council meetings, official spokesim for the hood. Manage foreign alliances, enforce laws and immi-/emigration, serve as SUN Core member.

Increasing the salary of the council members

Making the hood president a full-time position with an increased salary to manage thier livihood

Taking over The Centre as a OFB lot and hiring local residents to manage the gift shop, and the newspaper office.

Creating Apple Valley paraphernalia like cups, t-shirts, photo prints, etc.

Pastoral Notes: Construction Starts

2007-04-05T10:39:00.000-07:00

Spring is here and construction on the rebuilding process is underway. It is fascinating to watch something come out of the ground from nothing. Perhaps I will have my first sermon about that amazing phenomenon.

I am nervous about taking my post as the new pastor. Nicole and I have been given a modest bonus as an incentive, besides we are able to live in the house-rent free, as well as recieve a modest weekly salary. Not much, about $500 a simweek which equates to about $70 a day. Nicole wants to get a job at the new resturaunt, Tati's. That should bring in some additional money, not much more, but a little bit more. We're also going to plant a small garden and fish in the local ponds for extra income/food.

The most exciting news is the addition to the Humphrey family and which will keep me rather busy when not drafting sermons, preaching or tending our garden. We're going to adopt a child. Hopefully this will be the first of three, but we shall see. It was a disappointment that we could not bear children, but at least now we will give a needy child a home. I am anxious to see the little one.